UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


GERHART  HAUPTMANN 

AND 

JOHN  GALSWORTHY, 
A  PARALLEI. 


By 
WALTER  H.  R.  TRUMBAUER 


A  THESIS 

Presented  to  the  Faculty  of  the  Graduate  School  in  partial  fulfillment 
of  the  requirements  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy 


PHILADELPHIA.  PA. 
1917 


1917 

Main! 


It  is  with  pleasure  I  acknoWledgt  my 
indebtedness  to  Professor  Co.-neliusWt-y- 
gandt,  first,  for  inspiring  in  me  an  Intci  ■ 
est  in  modern  drama,  and  second,  for  his 
valuable  counsel.  I  wish  also  to  thank 
Professors  C.  G.  Child  and  F.  E.  Schell- 
ing,  and  Mr.  Karl  Scholz  for  helpful  sug- 
gestions. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Chapter      I.  Introduction 9 

Chapter    II.  Subject  Matter 13 

Chapter  III.  Art 37 

Chapter  IV.  The  Parallel  Plays .- 65 

Die  Weber  and  Strife 65 

Der  Biherpelz  and  The  Silver  Box 68 

Hanneles  Himmclfahrt  and  The  Little  Dream. .  71 

Michael  Kramer  and  A  Bit  o'  Love 72 

Chapter    V.  Conclusion 76 

Bibliography  79 


GERHART  HAUPTMANN  AND  JOHN  GALSWORTHY, 
A  PARALLEL. 

L 

Introduction. 

John  Galsworthy  has  unconsciously  created  on  the  last  page  of  The 
Country  House  a  symbol  of  the  relationship  between  Gerhart  Hauptmann 
and  himself.  Thus  he  puts  it :  "The  faces  of  the  Rector  and  Mr.  Pendyce 
were  turned  up  at  the  same  angle,  and  different  as  those  faces  and  figures 
were  in  their  eternal  rivalry  of  type,  a  sort  of  essential  likeness  struck  her 
with  a  feeling  of  surprise.  It  was  as  though  a  single  spirit  seeking  for  a 
body  had  met  with  these  two  shapes,  and  becoming  confused  decided  to 
inhabit  both."  The  astonishing  thing  is,  not  that  a  spiritual  relationship 
should  exist  between  them,  but  that  it  should  express  itself  in  singular 
parallels  in  their  works  and  their  careers. 

The  parallels  in  their  careers  take  the  form  of  interesting  coincidences. 
First,  is  the  proximity  of  their  ages.  Then,  is  the  fact  that,  tho  each 
has  travelled  extensively,  each  has  laid  the  scenes  of  his  works  almost 
exclusively  in  his  native  country.  Moreover,  each  is  pre-occupied  with 
his  native  district,  Hauptmann  in  Silesia  and  Galsworthy  with  Devon. 
As  nearly  all  of  the  few  exceptions  are  the  results  of  travels,  it  can  readily 
be  seen  which  countries  have  had  the  greatest  influence  upon  them.  These 
few  exceptions  are,  in  the  case  of  Hauptmann,  laid  wholly  or  partly,  in 
Italy,^  Switzerland,-  Poland,^  Greece*  and  America  f  in  the  case  of  Gals- 
worthy, in  Italy ,^  Tyrol,'^  Germany,^  South  Africa''  and  America."  Each, 
it  should  be  noticed,  has  visited  Italy  and  America.  Although  neither 
would  pose  as  a  prophet,  each  has  written  a  prophetic  book — Hauptmann, 


^Promethidenlos  and  Griselda. 

-Dcr  Apostel. 

'Elga. 

*Der  Bogen  des  Odysseus  and  Gricchischer  Frilhling. 

^Atlantis. 

°"A  Knight"  in  Villa  Rubein  and  Other  Stories,  The  Dark  Flower,  "Wind  in  the 
Rocks"  and  "The  Inn  of  TranquilHty"  in  The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 

'"Villa  Rubein"  and  The  Little  Dream. 

^"The  Salvation  of  a  Forsythe"  in  Villa  Rubein  and  Other  Stories. 

'"A  Woman"  in  A  Motley. 

""The  Silence"  in  J 'ilia  Rubein  and  Other  Stories,  and  "That  Old  Time  Place"  in 
The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 

[9] 


lO  Ccrhcri  H nuptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

Atlantis  before  the  sinking  of  the  Titanic,  Galsworthy,  The  Mob  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  present  war.  Each  is  well  versed  in  painting  and 
music.  Each  is  a  poet,  a  novdist,  a  dramatist  of  international  repute. 
Each  has  written  prose  sketches  and  comments,  and  an  introduction  to 
another's  work. 

Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  are  not  what  might  be  called  "popu- 
lar" writers.  Their  work  is  far  above  the  comprehension  of  the  mass  of 
people,  and  much  too  universal,  too  tolerant  for  the  specialist.  For  the 
man  who  desires  mere  art,  or  the  man  who  desires  mere  amusement,  they 
have  a  superabundance  of  thought ;  for  the  man  who  desires  only  ideas, 
they  are  provokingly  artistic.  Consequently  they  write  "fiir  wenige  Edle," 
who  can  appreciate  both  their  art  and  their  thought.  From  this  it  must  not 
be  inferred  that  either  is  isolated  in  some  back  eddy,  out  of  the  current 
of  modern  life.  The  reverse  is  nearer  the  truth.  Altho  not  channel  break- 
ers they  ar6  channel  makers.  Each  is  abreast  of  modern  development  in 
both  thought  and  technique.  Each  is  a  leader  in  our  renascent  drama — 
which  is  renascent  as  Galsworthy  says — "not  because  this  or  that  i^an  is 
writing,  but  because  of  a  new  spirit."  Both  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy 
eminently  represent  this  new  spirit,  since  Hauptmann  is  the  foremost 
dramatist  of  contemporary  Germany,  as  Galsworthy  is  of  contemporary 
England.  This  fact,  together  wath  the  importance  of  drama,  and  the  uni- 
versal interest  in  it  at  the  present  time,  is  the  justification  of  the  present 
study. 

The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  not  to  point  out  merely  that  this  new  spirit 
expresses  itself  in  these  two  men,  but  more  especially  that  it  expresses 
itself  similarly  in  these  two  men ;  not  to  prove  any  indebtedness  to  any 
author  or  movement,  but  to  point  out  the  singular  phenomenon  of  paral- 
lelism ;  not  to  show  why  they  are  alike,  but  how  they  are  alike.  Analysis 
or  critical  appraisal  of  the  work  of  either  author  is  not  here  attempted — 
rather  interpretative  comparison.  Moreover  no  claim  is  made  that  this 
study  is  either  exhaustive  or  complete. 

While  both  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  began  to  write  at  the  end  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  they  are  essentially  writers  of  the  twentieth.  This 
is  because  they  look  forward  instead  of  backward  or  merely  around.  The 
century  just  closed  was  one  of  change  of  incalculable  significance  in  all 
phases  of  life — industry,  politics,  religion,  ethics,  art,  due  primarily  to  the 
development  of  science.    Perhaps  the  greatest  change  was  wrought  by  the 


Introduction  ii 

expansion  of  the  material  side  of  life.  The  introduction  of  improved 
machinery  produced  industrialism.  This  made  life  more  complex  and 
intense,  and  created  plutocrats  and  industrial  slaves.  An  accompaniment 
of  this  material  expansion  was  the  extension  of  the  democratic  and  social 
spirit,  given,  as  it  v^^as,  its  initial  impetus  by  the  French  Revolution,  and 
later,  acceleration  by  Marxian  Socialism.  The  result  was  to  place 
emphasis  upon  the  individual  and  his  right  to  political,  economic  and  reli- 
gious freedom.  Scarcely  less  important  than  the  material  expansion  of 
life  was  the  mental.  If  science  changed  man's  environment  and  mode  of 
life,  it  likewise  extended  his  mental  horizon,  by  the  introduction  of  new 
ideas  in  practically  every  field  of  human  endeavor.  It  made  the  world 
smaller  and  created  a  cosmopolitan  spirit.  But  the  phase  of  science  that 
revolutionized  all  things  was  the  theory  of  evolution.  Adopted  in 
philosophy  by  Hegel,  in  biology  by  Darwin,  in  sociology  and  ethics  by 
Spencer,  it  uprooted  the  accepted  notions  in  the  whole  realm  of  human 
knowledge  and  necessitated  a  revaluation  of  standards.  Life  was  no 
longer  static  but  evolutionary,  the  individual  was  no  longer  the  end  but  a 
link  in  a  great  casual  chain.  Biology  became  the  study  of  heredity  and 
environment,  history,  of  social  and  economic  conditions.  Religion  turned 
toward  humanitarianism.  In  ethics  moral  standards  were  recognized  as 
neither  fixed  nor  final.  The  latter  half  of  the  last  century  was  the  battle- 
time  of  these  ideas,  and  out  of  this  strife  between  the  old  and  the  new, 
arose  new  Hfe  in  all  activities. 

Literature,  too,  felt  the  impress  of  the  changing  spirit,  and  reflected  the 
clash  of  ideas  in  life.  The  democratic  and  social  spirit  emphasized  the 
individual,  and  the  scientific  spirit  emphasized  the  detail.  Conse- 
quently, literature  turned  more  and  more  from  pure  imagination 
and  intuition  to  observation ;  hence  an  increasing  tendency  toward 
realism,  which  culminated  toward  the  end  of  the  century  in  what  was 
popularly  called  Naturalism,  in  the  works  of  Zola  and  his  school.  At  the 
same  time  came  a  greater  realization  that  the  individual  has  value — since 
he  is  a  link  in  a  chain — by  and  for  himself.  Greater  emphasis  was  given 
to  his  right  to  self-development  and  self-expression.  The  extraordinary 
gave  way  to  the  ordinary.  Character,  with  its  various  psychological  man- 
ifestations, was  studied  in  relation  to  social  and  economic  conditions. 
Life  was  no  longer  conceived  of  as  a  struggle  with  fate,  or  moral  guilt, 


12  Gcrhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

but  with  heredity  and  environment.     In  the  words  of  Wilde,  "Heredity 

was  Nemesis  without  her  mask the  last  of  the  P'ates  and  the  most 

terrible."  This  attitude  rrSturally  led  to  the  scourging  of  social  and  moral 
I  evils  and  the  challenging  of  conventional  standards  as  the  basis  of  final 
i  judgment.  This  second  phase  of  the  literary  development  is  best  repre- 
sented by  the  works  of  Ibsen,  altho  it  had  already  been  forecasted  in  the 
work  of  Hebbel.  The  third  great  historic  figure  in  nineteenth  century 
literature  is  Tolstoi.  In  him  one  finds  epitomized  a  greater  spirituality 
and  a  deeper  sens,e,of  brotherly  love. 

Contemporary  authors  are,  therefore,  building  on  ground  already 
broken.  They  are  trying  to  reveal  the  organic  bond  that  unites  man  with 
the  universe;  trying  to  show  that  spirit  is  as  real  as  matter;  trying  to  dis- 
close the  ideal  values  of  life.  One  phase  of  this  striving  is  revealed  in 
Malise's  apostrophe  to  the  messenger  boy :  "Man  of  the  world — product 
Vof  a  material  age ;   incapable  of  perceiving  reality  in  the  motions  of  the 

Spirit, ""     Another  phase  is  succinctly  expressed  in  these  words: 

"In  the  individual  soul  'they  saw  the  reflection  of  a  social  longing  and  in 
the  individual  character  the  product  of  the  conflict  between  that 
which  is  and  that  which  is  to  be.  In  their  works  the  individual  stands  not 
merely  for  his  age,  but  for  the  coming  age  begotten  in  his  age."^-  They 
are  therefore  pointing  forward  to  a  deeper  religious  spirit,  a  broader  hu- 
manitarianism  and  tolerance ;  a  more  real  sympathy  with  the  disinherited 
of  the  social  order.  If  sympathy  with  the  disinherited  and  misunder- 
stood was  lacking  in  Ibsen,  he  nevertheless  "came  to  realize  that  for  the 
future  the  artist's  attitude  toward  life  must  be  not  only  revelative:  it 
must  be  redemptive  as  well."^^  This  attitude  toward  life  has  been  assumed 
by  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy,  tho  not  as  a  conscious  effort  or  with 
definite  purpose.  Yet,  that  they  realize  the  value  of  art  as  a  redemptive 
force  is  indicated  by  Galsworthy's  own  statement :  "Art  is  the  one  form 
of  human  energy  which  really  works  for  union,  and  destroys  the  barriers 
between  man  and  man.  It  is  the  continual,  unconscious  replacement,  how- 
ever fleeting,  of  oneself  by  another.'"* 


"T/z^  Fugitive,  Act  3,  Sc.  i,  p.  57. 

"J.  F.  Coar:    Studies  in  German  Literature  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  Chap.  12, 
p.  311- 

"Archibald  Henderson :    The  Changing  Drama,  p.  99. 
""Vague  Tlionghts  on  Art"  in  The  Inn  of  Tranquillity,  p.  258. 


II. 

Subje:ct  Matter. 

Hauptmann  has  written  twenty-four  dramas,  an  epic,  two  novels,  two 
legends  for  children,  two  sketches,  some  poetry  and  a  diary  of  travel. 
Galsworthy  has  written  ten  dramas,  eight  novels,  four  books  of  sketches 
and  commentaries  and  a  book  of  poems.  In  this  total  volume  of  work 
of  the  two  men  are  many  parallels — of  subject  matter,  form  and  thought. 
Sometimes  these  parallels  are  isolated — subject  matter  alone,  form  alone, 
or  thought  alone.  Sometimes  they  extend  thru  the  entire  work.  But  in 
four  plays  there  is  a  complete  synthesis  of  almost  parallel  matter,  form 
and  thought.  These  are :  Die  IVeher  and  Strife;  Der  Biberpeh  and  The 
Silver  Box;  Hanneles  Himmelfahrt  and  The  Little  Dream;  Michael 
Kramer  and  A  Bit  o'  Love.  By  a  survey  of  Hauptmann's  and  Gals- 
worthy's complete  work,  and  a  somewhat  detailed  comparison  of  these 
four  plays,  I  hope  to  indicate  the  parallelism  of  the  work  of  the  two 
authors. 

Hauptmann  divides  his  dramas  into  social,  domestic,  historic,  legendary 
and  symbolic  plays.  The  social  dramas  include  Vor  Sonnenaiifgang,  Die 
Weher,'Dcr  Biherpels,  Der  rote  Hahn,  Fuhrman  Henschel,  Rose  Bernd, 
Die  Ratten;  the  domestic  and  personal.  Das  Friedenfest,  Einsame  Men- 
schen,  College  Crampton,  Michael  Kramer,  Die  Jimgfern  vom  Bischofs- 
berg,  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht;  the  historic,  Florian  Geyer;  the  leg- 
endary, Griselda,  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  Der  arme  Heinrich,  Der  Bogen  des 
Odysseus;  the  symbolic,  Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  Die  versunkene  Glocke, 
Schluck  und  J  an,  Und  Pip  pa  tan:::t!  Galsworthy's  plays  may  be  roughly 
fitted  into  this  same  classification.  Strife  like  Die  Weber  deals  with  the 
problem  of  capital  and  labor;  The  Silver  Box  and  Justice  like  Biber- 
peh and  Der  rote  Hahn  treat  the  theme  of  justice;  The  Eldest  Son  like 
Rose  Bernd  deals  with  that  of  the  fallen  girl ;  The  Fugitive  like  Einsame 
Menschen,  College  Crampton,  Michael  Kramer  with  the  unhappy  mar- 
riage ;  Joy  not  unlike  Die  Jungfern  vom  Bischofsberg  with  personal  love 
affairs ;  A  Bit  o'  Love  like  Michael  Kramer  with  persecution  of  a  misun- 
derstood man.  The  Mob  like  Florian  Geyer  has  a  political  background, 
but  a  more  personal  theme.    The  Pigeon,  a  fantastic  comment  on  life,  may 


14  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galszvorthy 

be  grouped  with  Schluck  tind  Jan,  "spiel  zu  Scherz  und  Schimpf."  The 
Little  Dream  is  a  symbolic  dream  play  like  Hanneles  Himmelfahrt.     1 

It  is  a  commonplace  of  criticism  to  point  out  that  modern  literature  treats 
the  common  people  in  their  average  daily  life,  that  it  illuminates  the  ordi- 
nary daily  life  about  us.  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  are  no  exceptions, 
if  we  are  careful  not  to  interpret  "life  about  us"  in  a  too  provincial  sense. 
They  treat  what  might  be  called  the  "average"  characters  of  their  par- 
ticular localities.  By  "average"  is  not  necessarily  meant  mediocre  or 
merely  normal,  but  more  especially  the  generality  that  one  might  meet  upon 
a  day's  travel.  Most  of  the  people  so  met  will  be  mediocre  and  normal 
but  that  does  not  preclude  the  possibility  of  meeting  an,  exceptional  char- 
acter like  Becky  Sharp,  or  such  superior  men  as  Roberts  and  Anthony, 
(Strife)  or  such  abnormal  people  as  Dr.  Scholz  (Fried.)  and  Emanuel 
Quint  (N.  in  C).  Nor  has  "average"  anything  to  do  with  class  distinc- 
tion. One  class  may  be  superior  to  another  and  yet  the  members  of  both 
be  "average." 

While  neither  Hauptmann  nor  Galsworthy  has  treated  the  whole  range 
of  society,  each  has  dealt  with  a  great  many  types.  Each  has  a  keen  appre- 
ciation, too,  of  the  inter-relation  of  class  with  class.  Yet  of  one  class,  the 
patrician,  they  have  made  comparatively  few  studies.  If  we  omit  Haupt- 
mann's  legendary  and  historical  plays  we  find  very  few  characters  belong- 
ing to  this  class,  von  Wehrhahn  (Rote  H.),  Baron  Kellwinkel  (N.  im  C), 
Frau  von  Heyder  (Jung.  v.  B.),  Valleys,  Dennis  and  Miltoun  (Patric), 
Sir  William  (Eld.  S.)-^'^  Nor  is  either  especially  interested  in  ofificialdom, 
altho  each  gives  a  few  examples.  More  and  Julian  (Mob),  Floyd  (Justice), 
John  Freeland  (Freeh),  von  Wehrhahn,  Kellwinkel,  Flamm  (Rose  B.). 

In  the  lower  and  middle  classes  both  are,  however,  vitally  interested, 
perhaps  because  of  the  importance  of  these  classes  in  the  world  of  to-day, 
or  because  they  are  more  familiar  with  them.  The  feature  which  distin- 
guishes the  two  men  in  their  treatment  of  these  classes  is  that  they  ap- 
proach their  material  from  opposite  sides,  Hauptmann  from  below  and 
Galsworthy  from  above.  Each  gives  emphasis  to  the  group  with  which 
he  is  most  familiar  by  virtue  of  birth  and  training — Hauptmann  with  the 
Silesian  peasants  and  Berlin  populace,  and  Galsworthy  with  the  country- 
house  gentry. 


"von  Kammacher  (Atlan.)  and  von  Krautheim  (Mich.  K.)  do  not  appear  to  belong 
to  this  class. 


Subject  Matter  15 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  characters  are  "average"  they  are 
not  uninterestingly  ahke.  Each  author  has  given  us  a  wonderful  and  un- 
usual gallery  of  portraits,  tho  Hauptmann's  perhaps  shows  the  greater 
variety.  Characters  are  individualized — even  very  minor  ones  in 
Hauptmann.  Yet  they  at  the  same  time  fall  logically  into  certain  groups 
or  types.  If  a  distinction  were  to  be  made  between  Hauptmann's  and  Gals- 
worthy's treatment  of  character  it  would  probably  be  this :  that  Haupt- 
mann creates  individuals  that  approach  very  often  to  types  while  Gals- 
worthy creates  types  that  approach  very  often  to  individuality.  Such  a 
rich  gallery  of  portraits  cannot  be  adequately  described.  And  quite  use- 
less is  it  to  name  all  the  different  types.  Social  differences,  too,  make  a 
real  comparison  virtually  impossible.  Therefore  it  must  suffice  to  com- 
pare only  the  most  important  types  that  both  depict. 

Of  the  peasant  class  which  Hauptmann  treats  so  abundantly — types  like 
the  silent  Thiel  (Bahn.  T.)  or  the  pathetic  Beipst  (Vor  S.)  or  the  faithful 
Friebe  (Fried.)  or  the  patient  Hilse  (Weber)  or  the  "disciples"  in  Der 
Narr  in  Christo,  Galsworthy  gives  almost  no  examples.  In  "Sheep-Shear- 
ing"^*' and  "Threshing,"^^  one  gets  faint  glimpses  into  country  life.  The 
villagers  in  A  Bit  0'  Love,  the  shepard  in  "Progress,"^^  Tryst  (Freel.),  old 
Studdenham  (Eld.  S.)  are  examples  of  the  disappearing  English  rustics. 

From  the  life  of  Society,  on  the  other  hand,  Hauptmann  draws  few 
pictures.  In  College  Crampton  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the  people  who  are 
well-to-do  but  to  whom  social  life  has  no  special  value  either  as  a  pastime 
or  as  an  occupation.  In  Die  Jungfern  vom  Bischofsherg  he  draws  a  pic- 
ture of  the  rural  gentry.  But  social  life  is  not  a  striking  feature ;  our 
interest  centers  more  in  the  individual  members  of  the  household  and 
their  guests. 

A  group  that  is  not  very  important  but  that  merits  attention,  consists  of 
the  financiers  and  manufacturers.  They  are  Dreissiger  (Weber),  selfish, 
cowardly;  Anthony  (Strife)  obstinate,  pugnacious;  old  Jolyon  (Frat.) 
kindly,  masterful;  the  materialists,  Adolf  Strahler  (Col.  C.)  and  Stanley 
Freeland  (Freel.).  To  these  should  be  added  Hoflfman,  an  opportunist 
who  sacrified  ideals  for  gold. 

Another  group  consists  of  practical  reformers,  and  includes  Martin,  the 


"T/i^  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 
^'A  Commentary. 


i6  Gerhart  Haiiptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

sanitist  (Frat.)  and  the  Schmidts  (Atlan.).  Martin  agitates  a  great  deal 
about  what  ought  to  be  done  for  the  poor,  while  the  Schmidts  unostenta- 
tiously contribute  their  services.  Loth  (Vor  S.)  may  be  included  in  this 
group;  perhaps  too,  Clara  Freeland  (Freel),  Schimmelpfennig  (Vor  S.) 
and  Boxer  (Rote  H.)  who  talk  much  about  improving  conditions  but  do 
nothing. 

The  ministers  make  up  a  rather  important  group.  Each  author  has 
drawn  a  number,  of  very  different  types.  Yet,  with  the  exception  of 
Strangway  (B.  o'  L.),  practically  not  one  of  them  has  a  higher  conception 
of  religion  than  conformity  to  rules  and  externals;  of  real  spirituality 
they  have  little  or  none.  Kollin  (Eins.  M.)  is  an  anti-evolutionist;  Kittle- 
haus  (Weber)  a  time-server;  Miller,  the  prison  chaplain  (Justice),  a 
hardened  soul  surgeon;  Latter  (Eld.  S.)  a  stickler  for  appearances. 
Spitta  (Ratten)  is  narrow,  trivial  but  sincere.  Barter  (C.  H.)  is  earthly 
in  body  and  spirit.  The  Fisher  of  Men^®  practices  a  religion  of  hardness 
and  chastisement. 

Curiously  enough,  one  character  in  the  work  of  each  man  forms  a  class 
by  himself — the  French  vagabond  Ferrand  (Pigeon  and  Is.  Phar.)  and 
the  Frenchified  vagabond  Klemt  (Jung.  v.  B.).  Both  live  by  picking  up  odd 
jobs — Ferrand  by  tutoring,  and  Klemt  by  soldiering  and  rat-catching. 
Notwithstanding  their  reduced  condition  economically  both  maintain  a 
dignified  and  condescending  attitude  when  talking  to  their  betters.  Both 
have  a  way  of  reducing  them  to  an  uncomfortable  sense  of  inferiority. 
Ferrand  is,  of  course,  much  better  educated  and  much  more  of  a  gentle- 
man, but  perhaps  no  more  of  a  philosopher,  for  Klemt,  asked  who  and 
what  he  is,  answers,  "mit  Grandezsa:  Ich  bin  ein  Mann,  der  das  Leben 
versteht." 

The  artist  or  creative  thinker  is  a  type  of  man  emphasized  by  both 
authors.  In  a  great  many  of  Galsworthy's  works,  and  in  nearly  all  of 
Hauptmann's  one  finds  an  author,  artist,  musician,  architect,  minister  or 
physician.  Most  of  Hauptmann's  men  of  this  type  are  artists,  tho  both 
authors  give  a  number  of  variations.  Loth  is  an  investigator;  Courtier 
(Patric),  Felix  Freeland,  Malise,  Hilary  (Frat.)  are  authors;  Len- 
non  (Dark  F.),  a  sculptor;  Stone  (Frat.)  and  Maurer  (G.  S.  F.),  profess- 
ors;  Bosinney  (M.  of  P.),  an  architect;   Lucy  Heil  (G.  S.  F.),  a  violin- 


"'A  Fisher  of  Men"  in  A  Motley. 


Subject  Matter  17 

ist;  Young  Jolyon  (M.  of  P.),  Bianca  (Frat.),  Wellwyn  (Pigeon),  Harz 
(Villa  R.),  Schilling,  Crampton,  artists;  Martin,  Von  Kammacher,  Boxer, 
physicians;  Strangway,  a  minister;  Cuthciitts  (Freel.)  an  editor.  In 
Atlantis,  College  Crampton,  Michael  Kramer  and  Gabriel  Schillings 
flitcht  Hanptmann  has  introduced  whole  groups  of  artists  or  physicians. 
The  use  of  artists  or  thinkers  for  chief  characters  is  a  device  much  used 
by  modern  writers.  It  affords  opportunity  for  contrasting  the  progressive 
and  radical  with  the  conservative  element  in  society,  and  makes  more  vivid 
the  outline  of  the  sensitive  idealist  leader  against  the  unfeeling  inert  mass. 
This  device  is  used  to  some  extent  by  Galsworthy.  In  general,  however, 
he  makes  his  characters  artists  or  thinkers  because  they  are  naturally  more 
sensitive  than  other  people.  Sometimes  however,  the  artistic  element  is 
purely  decorative.  We  feel  too  often  that  they  are  not  temperamentally 
artists  but  dilettantes.  Felix  Freeland,  Hilary,  Lennon,  Harz  and  Young 
Jolyon  have  no  special  calling  to  art — at  least  we  are  never  given  any  evi- 
dence of  it.  Malise  impresses  one  as  more  of  a  hack-writer  than  a  genius. 
Only  in  Stone,  Wellwyn  and  Bosinney  do  we  feel  that  art  is  in  every  fibre. 
Hauptmann  has  given  us  some  excellent  analyses  of  artistic  temperament 
— Crampton,  Arnold  and  Michael  Kramer.  We  feel  in  Crampton  and 
Arnold  the  instability  of  genius.  Wellwyn's  weakness  is  that  he  cannot 
refuse  anyone  a  helping  hand.  He  is  an  incorrigible  philanthropist,  even 
when  he  has  scarcely  anything  to  give.  Crampton  is  a  good  artist  and  a 
lovable  teacher,  but  he  is  not  good  at  arithmetic  and  "conduct."  His 
downfall  is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  is  an  impractical  child.  Arnold  Kramer, 
hypersensitive  because  his  beautiful  soul  was  housed  in  a  deformed  body, 
felt  as  Ibsen  said  in  another  connection :  "I  alone  stood  oppressed  by  the 
truth  of  things" — which  was  his  spiritual  superiority  to  those  who  looked 
upon  him  as  a  monstrosity.  Stone  is  a  visionary,  a  dreamer  like  Hein- 
rich,  who  is  as  far  from  realizing  his  fraternity  as  Heinrich  is  from  plac- 
ing his  bell.  In  justice  it  ought  to  be  said  that  some  of  Hauptmann's 
artists  are  artists  in  name  only — Lachmann  (Mich.  K.),  Eva  Burns 
(Atlan.),  Max  Strahler  (Col.  C),  probably  because  we  do  not  see  them 
in  suitable  environment. 

Of  the  criminal  type  we  find  few  examples, — if  Jones  (Sil.  B.),  Falder 
(Justice)  and  Frau  Wolfif  (Biber)  must  be  called  criminals,  Bruno 
(Ratten)  is  the  only  one  that  is  criminal  by  character, 

; 


i8  Gci'liart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

In  years  Hauptmann's  and  Galsworthy's  characters  range  from  youth 
to  old  age.  Singularly  enough  tho,  neither  author  draws  very  many  young 
men.  The  few  they  have  drawn  are  Derek  (Freel.),  Otto  (Jung.  v.  B.), 
Weinhold  (Weber),  Max  Strahler,  Lennon,  Dick  (Joy).  Usually  the  men 
are  past  first  youth  and  have  become  more  or  less  established  in  socitey. 

Both  authors  treat  young  girls,  young  women  and  elderly  women. 
Naturally  most  of  their  women  are  at  the  critical  periods  of  girlhood  or 
young  womanhood.  Of  young  girls  each  author  depicts  a  large  number. 
Hauptmann's  are  very  different  in  temperament  and  so  highly  individual- 
ized that  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  general  characterization.  Perhaps  the 
most  typical  of  them  is  Helen  (Vor  S.).  She  is  innocent,  meek,  lovable. 
Her  outlook  is  decidedly  limited,  her  manners  crude,  but  her  feelings  fine 
and  sensitive.  Somewhat  like  her  are  Ruth  (N.  in  C),  Ottegebe  (Arme 
H.)  and  Hannele.  These  three  are  however,  so  impressionable  that  they 
later  succumb  to  an  ecstasy,  partly  religious,  partly  sexual.  Perhaps  the 
best  drawn,  all-around  girl  in  Hauptmann  is  Gertrude  Crampton.  Altho 
she  has  a  good  knowledge  of  things  and  life,  she  is  not  sophisticated. 
Her  character  is  stable;  her  enthusiasm  and  affection  are  wholesome. 
She  understands  her  father  and  judges  him  justly.  In  her  maternal  atti- 
tude toward  him  she  reminds  one  of  Ann  (Pigeon).  For  a  different  rea- 
son Lux  (Jung.  V.  B.)  reminds  one  of  Joy.  Like  her  she  is  somewhat  of 
an  "enfant  terrible."  Joy  is  jealous  of  her  mother's  suitor.  Lux  says : 
"Was  geh^en  mich  denn  Eure  Brautigams  an,  wenn  sie  einem  Geschwister 
abspenstig  machen !"  And  like  Joy  she  finds  understanding  in  love.  She 
more  than  any  other  of  Hauptmann's  girls  is  like  Galsworthy's.  The  lat- 
ter's  are  often  naive  and  loving  but  seldom  meek.  They  have  enthusiasm 
and  exuberance.  By  virtue  of  superior  education  and  opportunities  they 
have  a  better  vision — or  at  least  if  it  isn't  vision,  it  is  ingenuity  enough  to 
get  what  they  want.  Pasiance^^  wins  the  day  against  her  grandfather, 
even  tho  it  costs  her  life.  Jane  (M.  of  P.)  is  determined  and  self-suffi- 
cient. Nell  (Dark  F.)  is  a  mixture  of  innocence  and  abandon.  Sylvia 
(Dark  F.)  and  Nedda  (Freel.)  are  less  spirited  but  more  sweet  and  gentle. 
The  women  who  break  moral  laws  probably  attract  the  most  attention. 
They  too,  form  a  large  group.  Clare  (Fugit),  Olive  (Dark  F.)  and 
others  of  Galsworthy's  women  break  conventions  because  they  spiritually 


*°"Man  of  Devon"  \.   V'illa  Rubein  and  Other  Stories. 


Subject  Matter  19 

rebel;  they  do  so  after  a  tremendous  struggle.  Hauptmann's  women  are 
apt  to  break  conventions  because  they  have  no  moral  scruples.  Hannah 
EHas  (G.  S.  F.)  is  not  striving  for  spiritual  freedom  but  for  sensual 
pleasure.  Ingigerd  (Atlan.),  Gersuind  (K.  K.  G.),  Melanto  (B.  des  O) 
live  according  to  their  instincts.  The  nearest  to  Galsworthy's  women  who 
break  moral  laws  is  Elga.  Her  struggle,  however,  is  not  how  to  free  her- 
self from  a  man  she  doesn't  love,  but  to  live  with  one  man  and  love  an- 
other. She!  has  a  dual  personality.  She  is  the  only  one  of  Hauptmann's 
or  Galsworthy's  women  who  stoops  to  wilful  deceit.  Of  course,  Gals- 
worthy does  not  paint  good  women  only.  Mrs.  Bellew  (C.  H.)  we  know 
is  "all  body." 

Hauptmann's  older  women  are  representative  of  tradition  or  convention, 
and  therefore  are  obstacles  to  more  liberal  people.  Frau  Vokerat  (Eins. 
M.)  is  a  hinderance  to  her  radical  son;  Frau  Kramer  and  Frau  Schilling 
to  their  husbands.  Galsworthy's  women  usually  understand.  At  worst 
they  are  like  Mrs.  Shelton  (Is.  Phar.)  and  Frances  Freeland,  harmless, 
doting  protesters.  Only  Frau  Flamm  (Rose  B.)  is  comparable  to  Gals- 
worthy's women  in  her  philosophic  and  understanding  attitude  toward 
life. 

A  large  number  of  characters,  both  men  and  women,  are  described  as 
"pale,  pallid,  parchmenty."  The  pallor  seems  to  arise  from  various  causes. 
Some  of  the  characters  are  pale  because  they  are  poverty-stricken — the 
weavers  in  Die  Weber,  the  laborers  in  Strife,  the  Joneses  (Sil.  B.),  The 
Hughses  (Frat.),  Ruth  (Justice)  ;  some  because  of  pathological  condi- 
tions— Schilling,  Hannah  EHas,  arme  Heinrich ;  others  because  of 
worry — Frau  John  (Ratten),  Thiel,  Mrs.  Sanford,-°  Heinrich  (vers  G.), 
Falder  (Justice).  Samuelson  (Atlan)  is  pale  from  overwork,  Pippin,-^ 
from  an  oppressive  sense  of  responsibility,  Ottegebe,  from  an  intense  love, 
Emanuel  Quint  from  Christian  Martyrdom.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that 
certain  characters  are  pale  for  more  than  one  reason.  Worry  is  a  natural 
accompaniment  of  poverty,  illness,  overwork  and  other  difficulties.  Per- 
haps the  proportion  of  pale  people  is  not  excessive ;  perhaps  it  is  the  pro- 
portion found  in  actual  life.  At  any  rate  certain  facts  must  be  born  in 
mind.  Both  authors  draw  many  characters  from  the  lower  class,  the  class 
that  is  feeling  economic  pressure.    In  addition  they  draw  people  who  are 


-""The  Neighbors"  in  A  Motley. 

""The  Silence"  in  Villa  Rubein  and  Other  Stories. 


20  Gcrhart  Hauphnann  and  John  Galsworthy 

very  sensitive  or  serious,  and  people  who  are  feeling  mental  pressure.  Pal- 
lor is  not  a  result  of  sensitiveness  or  seriousness  but  is  often  an  accom- 
paniment. 

One  who  has  read  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  must  have  been  im- 
pressed by  the  number  of  family  studies  found  in  the*  works  of  each.  In 
For  Soniienaufgang  and  Das  Friedenfcst  the  family  is  part  of  the  theme. 
In  Einsamc  Menschen,  Michael  Kramer,  Die  Jungfern  vom  Buehofsberg, 
The  Freehands,  Fraternity,  The  Man  of  Property,  The  Eldest  Son,  and 
The  Patrician,  it  plays  a  less  important  role.  While  both  authors  are  in- 
terested in  the  family,  the  interest  arises  from  different  causes.  Haupt- 
mann's  interest  seems  to  be  biological,  and  Galsworthy's  social.  Haupt- 
mann is  concerned  primarily,  at  least  in  Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  Das  Fried- 
cnsfest,  Einsame  Menschen,  and  Michael  Kramer,  with  the  effects  of 
heredity  and  environment  upon  character.  Galsworthy  is  concerned  with 
showing  the  variations  in  type  to  be  found  in  a  limited  group.  It  has  its 
root  too,  probably  in  his  love  of  painting  miniatures. 

Vor  Sonnenaufgang  is  the  study  of  the  effect  of  the  sudden  acquisition 
of  wealth  upon  a  peasant  family  upon  whose  land  coal  has  been  discovered. 
Luxury  added  to  ignorance  brings  depravity.  The  family  vice  is  alco- 
holism. Das  Fricdcnsfest  is  the  story  of  a  family  of  neurotics  who  are 
mutually  intolerable.  They  have  been  separated  for  years  but  return  for 
a  Christmas  reconciliation.  The  result  is  almost  tragic.  Einsame  Men- 
schen is  the  first  treatment  by  Hauptmann  of  the  theme  of  a  man  strug- 
gling between  duty  and  family  on  the  one  side  and  love  and  spiritual  free- 
dom on  the  other.  The  Vokerats  are  sincere,  but  narrow-minded  and 
conservative.  The  son  is  radical  and  unorthodox.  To  him  the  narrowness 
of  home  life  becomes  intolerable.  Michael  Kramer,  his  son  and  daughter 
are  artists.  His  wife  is  a  Hausfrau.  The  son,  an  ugly  creature,  has 
genius,  but  he  is  misunderstood  by  father  and  mother  alike.  The  daugh- 
ter is  a  disappointed  masculine  woman  with  tenacity  of  purpose,  but  with- 
out the  divine  spark.  Die  Jungfern  vom  Bischofsberg  are  four  orphaned 
sisters.  The  eldest  is  somewhat  pensive,  the  youngest  frivolous.  Agatha 
is  burdened  by  a  sense  of  duty  to  her  unendurably  pedantic  fiance.  Other 
members  of  the  family,  the  aunt,  the  uncle  and  the  grandmother  are  inter- 
esting but  not  important  characters.  The  Man  of  Property  gives  an  ex- 
cellent picture  of  a  family  consisting  of  four  brothers,  three  sisters  and  the 


Subject  Matter  21 

children  and  grandchildren  of  two  of  the  brothers.  All  show  traces  of 
the  family  strain,  but  all  are  exceedingly  well  differentiated.  The  head- 
ship of  the  family  assumed  by  the  eldest  sister  and  the  petty  jealousies  of 
the  brothers  are  features  very  well  handled.  The  family  in  Fraternity 
consists  of  two  brothers  who  married  two  sisters,  the  idealist  father  of  the 
sisters,  the  daughter  of  one  sister,  and  others.  In  this  case  there  is  a  de- 
cided contrast  between  the  sisters  and  the  brothers,  one  pair  is  practical, 
and  the  other  artistic.  Each  member  of  the  family  assumes  a  characteris- 
tic attitude  toward  social  reform.  In  both  The  Eldest  Son  and  The  Patri- 
cian the  family  consists  of  man  and  wife  and  four  or  five  children.  All 
are  well  drawn  but  in  each  case  the  eldest  son  and  the  second  daughter  are 
emphasized  more  than  the  others.  The  Freelands  like  The  Man  of  Prop- 
erty deals  with  a  large  family.  In  this  case  the  family  has  four  branches, 
but  one  branch  is  stressed  especially.  This  branch  comprises  the  dreamer 
Tom  and  his  independent,  sensible  wife,  and  his  impetuous  children. 

Both  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  have  a  keen  sense  of  place,  not  that 
either  is  interested  in  place  per  se,  but  in  place  as  it  helps  to  form  a  part 
of,  or  a  background  to  character.  Each  has  a  subtle  power  of  conveying 
the  spirit  of  his  native  land.  Hauptmann  has  given  us  numerous  pictures 
of  his  cherished  Silesia  and  Galsworthy  of  his  favored  Devon,  nowhere 
better  perhaps  than  in  Der  Narr  in  Christo  and  ''The  Man  of  Devon." 
From  the  former  we  get  not  only  the  spirit  of  the  place  but  also  a  sense  of 
topography.  We  feel  the  altitude  of  the  mountains ;  the  expanse  of  the 
country ;  the  distance  between  the  villages  ;  the  poverty,  ignorance,  super- 
stition of  the  peasants.  In  the  latter,  we  are  in  the  presence  of  the  ele- 
ments. We  feel  the  spirit  of  the  wind,  the  sea,  the  moor,  reflected  chiefly 
thru  Old  Pearse.  Other  examples  of  their  sense  of  locality  are  Atlantis, 
Die  Weber,  "Villa  Rubein"  and  "Riding  in  the  Mist."--  Both  authors  are 
especially  careful  to  specify  the  exact  spot  where  the  action  takes  place. 
In  Das  Friedensfest  it  is  "bei  Erkner" ;  in  Der  Biberpelc,  "irgendwo  um 
Berlin" ;  in  The  Silver  Box,  "Rockingham  Gate" ;  in  Joy,  "near  the 
Thames  above  Oxford."  Hauptmann  further  localizes  by  the  use  of  dia- 
lect. However,  when  the  action  of  their  stories  is  placed  in  large  cities  we 
are  less  likely  to  feel  the  spirit  of  the  place  than  when  the  action  takes 
place  in  villages  or  in  the  country.    This  is  due  probably  to  the  fact  that 


'The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 


22  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

each  is  more  fond  of  the  rural  life  and  knows  it  better,  and  too,  to  the  fact 
that  each  relies  very  much  on  the  use  of  nature  as  a  background. 

The  immediate  setting  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  is  the  home.  Out- 
of-door  settings  are  used  too,  to  a  considerable  extent,  especially  in  the 
novels ;  but  they  figure  much  less  in  Galsworthy's  plays  than  in  Haupt- 
mann's.  The  plays  dealing  with  justice  have,  of  course,  court  settings. 
Once  the  almshouse  figures — Hanncle,  twice  the  charity  lodging  house — 
The  Island  Pharisees  and  "A  Simple  Tale."^^  Once  each  author  gives  a 
glimpse  into  the  tenements — Die  Ratten  and  Fraternity.  A  favorite  setting 
with  Hauptmann  is  the  public  inn.  This  is  probably  due  to  his  personal 
knowledge  of  such  places.  It  serves,  too,  as  a  means  of  gathering  together 
a  group  of  very  different  people.  Galsworthy  uses  this  setting  only  twice, 
in  The  Fugitive  and  A  Bit  o'  Love. 

Neither  Hauptmann  nor  Galsworthy  selects  material  from  the  stand- 
point of  theatrical  appeal.  If  then,  they  treat  sex  themes  and  the  "special 
case,"  it  is  not  for  the  sake  of  effect,  but  because  their  seriousness  and  sin- 
cerity must  find  expression.  Their  intense  sympathy  for  human  suffering 
and  the  idealism  in  their  outlook  compel  them  to  regard  every  case  as 
worthy  of  a  hearing.  As  Galsworthy  says,  "Sincerity  bars  out  no  themes." 
They  agree  with  Ibsen  that,  "a  man  shares  the  responsibility  and  guilt  of 
society  to  which  he  belongs."  Hence  they  feel  with  him : 
"To  live — is  to  war  with  fiends 

That  infest  the  brain  and  heart; 
To  write — is  to  summon  one's  self, 
And  play  the  judge's  part."-* 

While  both  have  played  the  judge's  part  by  condemning  the  social  or- 
ganization for  its  failure  to  leave  scope  for  individual  liberty  and  personal 
expression,  they  are  not  propagandists,  not  reformers.  They  offer  no 
panacea  for  the  world's  woes,  that  they  leave  to  "practical"  men.  They 
ar€  primarily  artists  deeply  pained  by  the  injustice  and  darkness  of  human- 
ity. In  one  thing,  however,  do  they  differ  from  Ibsen.  Ibsen  emphasized 
the  rights  of  the  individual,  often  at  the  expense  of  society.  But  as  he 
won  his  ground,  a  social  consciousness  was  awakened.  Hence  contem- 
porary writers  emphasized  not  the  individual's  rights  so  much  as  society's 


^The  Little  Man  and  Other  Satires. 

"*A.  Henderson :    The  Changing  Drama,  p.  14. 


Subject  Matter  23 

responsibility.  But  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  measure  social  respon- 
sibility not  so  much  in  terms  of  material  comfort  as  in  terms  of  spiritual 
freedom.  Society's  responsibility  is  not  only  positive,  but  negative.  Mate- 
rial aid  is  valuable,  but  more  important  is  non-interference  with  the  indi- 
vidual's spiritual  freedom. 

Hauptmann's  and  Galsworthy's  themes  may  be  subsumed  under  three 
headings:  (i)  Man's  struggle  with  a  hostile  physical  environment;  (2) 
Man's  struggle  to  escape  social  bondage;  and  (3)  Man's  struggle  with 
himself.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  themes  are  not  so  readily  placed  in  the 
respective  groups.  Naturally  environment,  social  standards  and  character 
are  inextricably  conjoined ;  so  that  all  these  may  be  found  in  one  story. 
If  however,  the  themes  treated  are  examined  more  especially  with  refer- 
ence to  the  character  of  the  subject  matter  a  better  understanding  of  the 
work  of  the  two  men  will  be  secured.  For  the  sake  of  convenience,  then, 
they  may  be  classified  as  social  and  economic,  political,  domestic  and  per- 
sonal, humanitarian  and  moral. 

Heredity  and  environment  form  the  basis  of  practically  all  Hauptmann's 
and  Galsworthy's  work,  as  they  do  of  the  work  of  nearly  all  the  modern 
writers.  If  they  are  not  an  explicit  feature,  as  in  the  case  of  several  of 
Hauptmann's  plays,  they  form  an  implicit  background  to  the  theme  treated. 
In  Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  Das  Friedensfest,  Die  Weber,  Die  Ratten,  for  in- 
stance, heredity  and  environment  form  a  part  of  the  action,  while  in  llie 
Silver  Box,  The  Man  of  Property,  The  Pigeon,  they  are  implied  behind  the 
action.  Hauptmann  emphasizes  the  harshness  of  environment  and  the  evil 
effects  of  heredity.  Some  of  his  works  are  definite  studies  of  pathological 
conditions.  Such  studies  are  the  Krauses,  the  Scholzes  and  Emanuel 
Quint.  His  treatment  of  abnormal  characters  may  be  due  in  part  to  his 
early  indebtedness  to  Zola,  in  part  to  the  nervous  character  of  the  age,  but 
more  especially  to  his  intense  interest  in  psychological  phenomena.  In  his 
early  plays  particularly,  he  showed  as  great  an  interest  in  the  scientific  as 
in  the  human  side  of  life.  This  attitude,  however,  he  soon  outgrew,  but 
never  wholly  discarded.  If  then,  alcoholism  is  the  dominant  note  of  Vor 
Sonnenaufgang;  in  Atlantis,  College  Crampton,  and  Michael  Kramer, 
it  becomes  an  echo.  In  Strife,  The  Silver  Box,  Fraternity,  likewise  it 
forms  a  more  or  less  important  part  of  the  story.  That  they  condemn  it 
goes  without  saying,  tho  both  authors  infer  that  it  is  the  poor  man's  only 
diversion. 


24  Gerhcrt  Haiiptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

Hauptmann's  intense  sympathy  with  humanity  is  best  shown  in  such  a 
play  as  Die  JVeber.  Here  class  is  aligned  against  class ;  the  luxury  and 
pleasure  of  the  life  of  the  rich  are  contrasted  with  the  poverty  and  ba,r- 
renness  of  the  life  of  the  poor;  the  inequalities  of  opportunity  are  trench- 
antly exposed.  The  ostensible  theme  is  the  conflict  between  capital  and 
labor.  This  is  the  theme  too,  of  Galsworthy's  Strife.  Galsworthy  has, 
however,  raised  the  problem  from  a  mere  bread  and  butter  level  to  that  of 
economic  justice,  and  has  given  a  more  balanced  presentation  of  the  prob- 
lem. Der  Biberpels_and  The  Stiver  Box  treat  again  the  inequalities  in  the 
life  of  rich  and  poor.  In  these  plays,  however,  the  immediate  theme  is  the 
ministration  of  justice.  In  Der  Biberpelz  the  theme  is  treated  humorously. 
The  guilty  washerwoman  escapes  punishment  while  the  wronged  rich  man 
is  censured,  all  because  of  the  tendency  of  the  magistrate  to  burrow  and 
magnify.  The  Silver  Box  is  a  serious  indictment  of  one  justice  for  the 
rich  and  another  for  the  poor.  Justice  is  concerned  less  with  the  contrast 
of  the  rich  and  the  poor  than  with  the  system  of  justice — the  system  which 
fails  to  consider  the  motive  as  well  as  the  deed.  In  Atlantis  once  again  we 
find  the  contrast  between  rich  and  poor  but  less  pointedly  emphasized. 
The  indulgence  and  selfishness  of  the  first-class  passengers  on  the  Roland 
are  set  over  against  the  poverty  and  sufferings  of  the  steerage  passengers. 
In  Fraternity  too,  the  juxtaposition  of  the  rich  and  poor,  in  their  relations 
to  one  another,  if  not  in  the  actual  juxtaposition  of  the  handsome  resi- 
dences and  the  slum  attic,  where  "each  has  a  shadow,"  again  forces  the 
inequalities  of  life  upon  our  consciousness. 

The  inevitable  results  of  the  extremes  of  wealth  and  poverty  are  idle- 
ness and  overwork.  And  these  have  their  social  and  economic  effects. 
While  idleness  on  the  part  of  the  poor  leads  to  crime,  as  we  see  in  The 
Silver  Box,  it  leads  on  the  part  of  the  rich  to  self-indulgence,  as  in  the  case 
of  Jack  Barthwick  (Sil.  B.),  or  the  Krauses.  Less  serious  consequences 
are  seen  in  The  Country  House,  in  which  a  man  gets  entangled  with  a 
married  woman,  or  in  The  Island  Pharisees,  in  which  Shelton  becomes 
dissatisfied  with  life,  or  in  Schluck  und  Jau,  in  which  Sidselill  suffers  from 
ennui.  Idleness  produces,  too,  indifference  and  self-complacency  as  seen 
in  "Fashion."-"  The  other  side  of  the  story  is  presented  in  Die  JVeber, 
Strife,  Fraternity,  Atlantis,  "Old  Age,"-*'  "Fear,"-''  "Holiday,"-"  "Proces- 


M  Commentary. 
'Ibid. 


Subject  Matter  25 

sion."-'  In  all  these  are  emphasized  the  slavery  of  the  victims  of  the  sys- 
tem, the  barrenness  of  their  lives  of  even  the  most  trifling  pleasure  or  re- 
lief. One  of  the  most  poignant,  yet  unstaged  comments  on  this  state  of 
affairs  is  presented  in  the  death  of  Zickelman  the  stoker  on  the  Roland, 
who  dies  at  his  post  overcome  by  the  heat,  that  others  might  travel  in  lux- 
ury. The  cheapness  of  life  is  brought  home  to  us  in  the  words  of  Von 
Kammacher,  after  he  has  read  in  a  New  York  newspaper  of  a  mine  ex- 
plosion and  a  factory  fire,  in  which  hundreds  lost  their  lives :  "Nach  uns 
die  Sintflut,  die  Kohle  ist  teuer,  das  Getreide  ist  teuer,  der  Spiritus,  das 
Petroleum,  aber  der  Mensch  ist  billig  wie  Brombeeren."-®  That  life  is 
cheap  is  bad  enough,  but  that  large  families  are  the  means  of  keeping  it 
cheap  is  terrible  indeed.  In  Die  Weber  we  find  a  negative  statement  of 
what  Pendyce  (C.  H.)  puts  positively:  "If  I  could  get  cottagers  to  have 
families  like  that  I  shouldn't  have  much  trouble  about  labor." 

The  plays  that  have  political  themes,  or  at  least  political  backgrounds 
are  Florian  Geyer  and  The  Mob..  In  a  sense  they  are  treatments  of  the 
conflict  of  the  individual  and  the  mob.  Florian  is  a  young  knight  who 
espouses  the  cause  of  the  people.  He  would  lead  them  to  freedom,  unity, 
justice.  Further,  he  has  the  ability.  But  he  is  swept  aside  by  the  insensate 
madness  of  the  mob.  The  collapse  of  the  people's  cause  is  due  not  so 
much  to  the  desertion  from  Florian  as  to  the  inability  and  unwillingness 
of  the  mob  to  restrain  its  mad  impetuosity  and  look  beyond  the  conse- 
quences of  the  moment.  In  this  play  Hauptmann  has  treated  history  from 
the  modern  standpoint  of  evolution.  History  is  made  not  the  outcome  of 
one  man's  leadership  but  of  deep-seated  social  and  economic  forces. 
If  Florian  has  a  vision  of  freedom,  harmony,  justice  beyond  the  compre- 
hension of  those  about  him,  so  More  has  a  vision  of  greater  patriotism, 
beyond  the  comprehension  of  those  about  him.  He  attracks  the  policy  of 
aggression  and  champions  the  cause  of  the  "little  fellow"  and  of  an  inter- 
national humanitarianism. 

The  mob  as  a  force  has  been  used  many  times  before  in  literature,  but 
the  mob  spirit  as  an  expression  of  crowd  psychology  is  a  modern  develop- 
ment. This  mob  psychology  has  taken  a  prominent  place  in  modern  liter- 
ature.   In  Die  Weber  it  takes  the  form  of  an  outburst  against  starvation ; 


'^''The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 

^Atlantis:    Gesammcltc  Werke,  Vol.  6,  p.  363. 


26  Gcrhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

in  Der  Narr  in  Christo  an  outburst  of  religious  ecstasy.  In  Atlantis,  it 
takes  the  form  of  a  morbid  love  of  the  sensational  in  the  reception  of  the 
armless  virtuoso  Stoss ;  in  "The  Pack"-"  of  a  wolfish  love  of  rending  a 
victim. 

The  most  vital  and  persistent  note  in  both  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy 
is  the  unhappy  marriage  and  its  terrible  consequences.  It  forms  the  chief 
theme  in  Michael  Kramer,  College  Crampton,  Binsame  Menschen,  Gabriel 
Schillings  Flucht,  Atlantis,  Bahmudrter  Thiol,  Fuhrmann  Henschel,  Das 
Fridensfest,  The  Man  of  Property,  Fugitive,  The  Country  House,  Fra- 
ternity, A  Bit  o'  Love.  In  all  of  Hauptmann's  treatments  of  the  problem, 
except  in  Bahnwdrter  Tliiel  and  Fnhrman  Henschel,  the  husband  suffers 
because  he  is  an  idealist  and  his  wife  is  an  unsympathetic  materialist.  In 
College  Crampton,  the  wife's  nagging  costs  the  husband  his  position  and 
his  all ;  in  Dos  Friedenfest  it  drives  the  whole  family  to  the  verge  of  mad- 
ness; in  Michael  Kramer  it  ruins  the  son  and  causes  his  death.  In 
Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht  it  is  the  combined  efforts  of  the  wife  and  a 
second  woman,  to  whom  she  has  driven  her  husband,  to  gain  his  love  that 
brings  about  his  despair  and  death.  In  Binsame  Menschen,  it  is  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  second  woman,  Anna  Mahr,  who  opens  up  a  new  vision  to 
Vokerat,  that  estranges  him  from  his  family  and  his  good,  patient  but  un- 
comprehending wife.  In  Bahnwdrter  Thiel,  it  is  the  brutality  of  his  wife 
that  drives  him  to  crime  and  insanity ;  in  Fnhrman  Henschel  it  is  her  im- 
morality that  drives  him  to  suicide.  A  less  conspicuous  example  of  the 
unhappy  marriage  is  to  be  found  in  Der  rote  Hahn.  Parallel  cases  are 
found  in  Atlantis  and  Michael  Kramer.  This  state  of  affairs  can  best  be 
understood  by  recognizing  that  the  German  Frau,  particularly  of  the  class 
depicted  by  Hauptmann  is  essentially  the  woman  of  "Kiiche  und  Kinder- 
stube,"  as  Vokerat  says  of  Kathe.  She  has  little  understanding  of  an  ideal, 
or  sympathy  with  art.  She  is  "strong  thru  the  narrowness  and  intensity 
of  her  elemental  aims,  destroying  man,  the  thinker  and  dreamer,  whose 
will,  dissipated  in  a  hundred  ideal  purposes,  goes  under  in  the  unequal 
struggle. "'" 

Galsworthy  in  presenting  the  case  of  the  unhappy  marriage  in  nearly 
every  instance  takes  the  side  of  the  woman.    The  woman  suffers  because 


M  Motley. 

'"L.  Lewisohn :    Introduction  to  Dramatic  Works  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann. 


Subject  Matter  27 

her  husband  is  a  narrow  materialist.  Such  is  the  situation  in  The  Fugi- 
tive, in  which  the  husband  has  dried  up  spiritually;  in  The  Man  of  Prop- 
erty, in  which  he  regards  his  wife  as  a  chattel ;  in  ''A  Knight,"'^^  llie  Dark 
Flower  and  Fraternity,  in  which  the  husband  has  ceased  to  have  any  at- 
traction. In  The  Country  House,  the  Bellews  are  mutually  incompatible. 
In  A  Bit  0'  Love  thd  wife  runs  off  with  another  because  she  cannot  love 
her  husband.  In  Joy,  The  Patrician,  The  Country  House,  The  Dark 
Flozver  and  Justice,  the  women  find  lovers  afterward.  Of  course,  in  nearly 
every  case  the  husband  suffers  intensely,  but  except  in  A  Bit  o'  Love  our 
sympathy  is  always  with  the  wife.  Young  Jolyon  (M.  of  P.)  serves  as 
the  rare  exception — the  man  who  found  marriage  intolerable  and  ran 
away. 

Themes  closely  related  to  the  unhappy  marriage  are  those  of  the  fallen 
woman  and  maternity.  The  best  example  found  in  the  work  of  either 
author  is  Rose  Bernd.  Rose  is  a  spirited,  clean-minded  girl  who  is  driven 
by  circumstances  to  compromise  herself,  and  then  to  the  committal  of  in- 
fanticide. While  Rose  is  a  spirited  girl  she  succumbs  to  the  traditions 
of  her  heredity  and  environment.  She  feels  herself  forever  condemned. 
She  could  never  rise  to  the  height  of  Freda  in  her  defiant  attitude  that 
forced  marriage  is  worse  than  disgrace.  The  purpose  of  The  Eldest  Son 
is  not  so  much)  to  treat  the  theme  of  the  fallen  girl  as  to  exhibit  English 
hypocrisy  with  its  double  standard  of  "one  law  for  you  and  another  for 
me."  Galsworthy  makes  no  definite  study  of  maternity  as  Hauptmann 
does  in  Die  Ratten  and  Griselda,  but  he  repeatedly  casts  sidelights  on  the 
subject,  as  in  "The  Mother,"^^  ]y[j.s  Jones,  Mrs.  Hussell  Barter  (C.  H.) 
and  especially  in  Mrs.  Roberts  (Strife).  Mrs.  Roberts'  thwarted  matern- 
ity is  almost  even  mord  tragic  than  that  of  Frau  John  (Ratten). 

Neither  Hauptmann  nor  Galsworthy  is  a  feminist.  Neither  is  a  cham- 
pion of  women's  rights.  If  each  has  drawn  a  few  women  that  are  self- 
sufficient,  it  is  not  because  he  is  interested  in  them  as  representative  of  a 
movement,  but  as  representative  of  the  spiritual  enlargement  for  which 
he  is  contending. 

That  eternal  theme  of  authors,  love,  has  not  escaped  Hauptmann  and 
Galsworthy.    But  how  diflferent  a  thing  it  is  to  them  from  what  it  is  to 


H'^illa  Rubein  and  Other  Stories. 
'A  Commentnry. 


(r^ 


28  Gerliart  Ilaiiptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

tlie  romanticists.  They  draw  no  such  glowing  love  scenes  as  those  found 
in  The  forest  Lovers,  or  such  colorless  ones  as  those  found  in  Scott.  Nor 
is  love  with  them  a  sexual  passion  only.  They  see  it  in  the  combined 
higher  light  of  science  and  universal  brotherhood.  Love,  in  its  various 
aspects,  is  a  phenomenon  to  be  examined  and  reported  on  faithfully. 
Hence  they  treat  it  from  several  points  of  view.  The  first  of  these  is 
that  love  is  a  tyrant  against  which  the  victim  is  helpless.  This  attitude 
is  represented  in  Kaiser  Karls  GeiscI,  Gabriel  Schillings  Fhicht  and  The 
Dark  Flozver.  Gersuind's  love  for  Karl  is  the  one  consuming  interest 
in  her  life.  And  it  is  this  which  leads  to  her  self-abandonment.  To  Len- 
non  love  is  the  dark  flower  whose  perfume  carries  him  beyond  self-con- 
trol. To  Schilling  love  is  a  consuming  fire  from  which  he  canot  escape. 
In  his  case,  however,  it  is  not  his  love  that  consumes  him,  but  love  of  him 
by  two  women  that  sears  him  body  and  soul.  Each  of  these  works  is  a 
study  of  passion,  The  Dark  Floiver  being  an  analysis  of  passion  at  three 
critical  periods  in  the  life  of  the  samejnan.  Karl,  being  an  old  man,  survives 
the  attack,  Lennon  escapes  twice  thru  external  circumstances,  but  Schilling 
succumbs.  Man's  struggle  with  this  tyrant  is  best  expressed  in  the  words  of 
Maurer :  "Wer  hat  nicht  mit  Weibern  Zeit  verloren !  Ja,  welcher  Mann, 
der  wirklich  einer  ist,  hat  sich  nicht  selbst  mehr  als  einmal  an  Weiber 
verloren.  Das  schadet  nichts !  Man  laszt  sich  fallen,  man  hebt  sich  auf, 
man  verliert  sich  und  man  findet  sich  wieder.  Hauptsache  bleibt,  dasz 
man  Richtung  behalt.  Wenn  man  Richtung  behalt  und  entschlossen  fort- 
lebt,  so  wette  ich  tausend  gegen  eins,  was  schlecht  geheiszen  hat  in  der 
Zeit,  must  dann  in  der  Zeit  auch  wieder  mal  gut  heiszen."^^ 

The  most  potent  manifestation  of  love  in  the  work  of  these  two  authors, 
after  love  as  a  tyrant,  is  the  love  thirst  in  the  human  heart.  This  is  the 
phase  found  in  Hannele.  While  Hannele  has  of  course,  been  smitten  with 
the  schoolmaster,  her  desire  for  love  is  not  wholly  sexual.  Her  longing 
for  a  kind  and  charitable  friend  has  only  intensified  her  love  for  Gott- 
wald,  and  her  religious  enthusiasm.  Arnold  Kramer  and  Strangway  so 
intensely  long  for  love,  both  in  the  concrete  and  the  abstract,  both  in  the 
form  of  woman  and  of  friends,  that  each  cuts  a  figure  which  in  its  ludi- 
crousness  is  sublimely  pathetic.  Most  pathetic  too,  is  the  figure  of  the 
model  in  Fraternity,  who  finds  in  Hilary  the  one  oasis  in  the  desert  of 


^Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  Act  I,  p.  37. 


Subject  Matter  29 

loneliness  and  barrenness  of  life.  Perhaps  nowhere  is  the  love  thirst 
more  tragically  represented  than  in  '*Once  More,"^*  in  which  the  slaking 
of  the  love  thirst  is  more  tragic  than  the  thirst  itself. 

That  the  love  thirst  in  the  human  soul  is  what  Plato  called  a  form  of 
the  soul's  craving  for  beauty  finds  corroboration  in  the  work  of  these  two 
men.  This  shows  itself  in  the  power  of  love  to  redeem  spiritually  lost 
souls  and  to  reconcile  them  to  an  ugly  and  unsympathetic  world.  It  is  love 
that  restores  arme  Heinrich  to  life,  health,  position,  serenity  of  mind 
and  harmony  with  the  universe.  It  is  Ida's  love  that  saves  Wilhelm 
(Fried)  from  utter  collapse.  It  is  filial  love  that  rescues  Crampton  from 
almost  certain  ruin.  Love  mak^es  Joy  understand  her  mother.  "It's  love 
that  makes  the  world  all  beautiful — makes  it  like  those  pictures  that  seem 
to  be  wrapped  in  gold,  makes  it  like  a  dream — no,  not  like  a  dream — like 
a  wonderful  tune."    Thus  wrote  Nedda  in  her  diary .^^ 

If  love  redeems,  it  does  so  chiefly  thru  sacrifice.  The  best  illustration 
of  this  is  Ottegebe  to  whom  love  made  even  death  sweet.  The  purer  and 
more  altruistic  the  love  the  greater  the  sacrifice.  Wellwyn  (Pigeon)  sac-  . 
rifices  himself  to  help  derelicts,  not  so  much  because  he  wilfully  sets  out  \ 
to  befriend  downtrodden  humanity,  but  because  deep  sympathy  with  suf- 
fering impels  him.  Those  who  have  the  true  spirit  of  brotherly  love  are 
usually  misunderstood,  and  even  persecuted.  Tho,  "die  menschenliebe 
nagte  an  ihm,"  Quint^^  went  to  an  outcast's  grave.  Strangway,  who  strove 
to  practice  universal  love,  nearly  lost  his  life.  The  old  man  in  "A  Simple 
Tale,"  who  befriended  his  poor  comrades  and  asked  of  the  rich  only : 
"let  me  rest  in  your  doorway !"  received  the  usual  reward  for  his  pains. 

From  a  love  of  humanity  to  a  love  of  animals  and  flowers  is  but  one 
step,  almost  an  inevitable  step.  Grieselda  is  a  maid  of  earth,  a  companion 
of  the  flowers.  Emanuel  Quint  has  not  only  human  followers ;  swans  and 
dogs  too,  recognize  him  as  master.^^  Michael  Kramer  loves  his  poplars. 
Strangway  loves  birds.  Shelton  stops  a  dog  fight.'*  Stone's  brotherhood 
includes  not  only  men,  but  birds  and  animals ;  they  too  are  brothers.  Der 
Apostel  "liebte  die  Miicken  und  Fliegen  briiderlich,  und  zu  toten 


'M  Motley. 

'^The'Freelands,  Chap.  IX. 

"Der  Narr  in  Christo;   Gesammelte  Wcrke,  Vol.  5,  Chap.  3. 

''Ibid..  Chap.  21. 

"The  Island  Pharisees,  Chap.  XL 


30  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galszvorthy 

schien  ihm  das  schwerste  aller  Verbrechen Er  selbst  pfliickte  niemals 

Veilchen  oder  Rosen,  um  sich  damit  zu  schmiicken er  wollte  alles  an 

seinem  Ort."^^  Compare  too,  Loth's  attack  on  hunting  with  passages  in 
The  Country  House  and  The  Island  Pharisees;  and  the  vegetarianism  of 
Stone,  Eva  Burns  and  Der  Apostel.  But  anyone  who  doubts  Haupt- 
mann's  and  Galsworthy's  love  of  animals  and  flowers  should  read 
Griechischer  Friihling  and  "Memories,"*"  "Apotheosis,"*^  "For  Love  of 
Beasts."*^ 

From  what  has  been  said  of  love  as  a  tyrant  it  wall  be  seen  that  both 
authors  treat  the  dual  elements  in  human  nature,  the  conflict  between  the 
higher  and  the  lower.  In  Hauptmann  the  struggle  usually  takes  the  form 
\of  a  conflict  between  the  ideal  aspiration  of  the  individual  and  his  mate- 
rial environment.  The  best  treatment  of  this  phase  is  given  in  Die  ver- 
simkene  Glocke.  The  dual  element  expressed  in  a  wholly  material  way 
is  found  in  Elga.  The  spiritual  form  is  expressed  in  Galsworthy's  The 
Little  Dream,  which  represents  allegorically  this  struggle  in  every  soul; 
and  to  some  extent,  in  "The  Magpie  Over  the  Hill."*^ 

One  of  the  most  important  of  Hauptmann's  and  Galsworthy's  themes  is 
the  exposure  of  selfishness,  hypocrisy,  narrow-minded  self-complacency. 
This  theme  is  never  pronounced,  it  lurks  rather  in  the  relations  of  the 
characters  to  each  other  and  the  attitudes  they  assume  toward  the  life's 
problems.  It  is  the  gossip  of  the  near-sighted  Vokerats  that  is  their  son's 
undoing.  It  is  the  depraved,  inebriated  Mrs.  Krause  who  thinks  the 
miners  drink  too  much.  Schmwarowski,**  a  pillar  of  the  church  makes 
money  thru  incendiarism.  Dalchow*^  by  overwork  drives  his  son  to 
suicide,  and  having  ruined  girls,  publicly  condemns  them.  Keil  and  Bernd 
by  their  sanctimoniousness  drive  Rose  to  destruction.  Pastor  Spitta  by 
his  provincial  narrow-mindedness  drives  his  children  from  home.  Dreis- 
siger  considers  himself  a  philanthropist  because  he  takes  on  two  hundred 
more  weavers  at  starvation  wages.  Tryst  goes  to  his  death  because  the 
Mallorings  have  a  "high"  sense  of  morality.    Strangway  is  forced  out  of 


''Der  Apostel,  p.  84. 

*''The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 

*M  Motley. 

^'A  Sheaf. 

*^The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 

**Der  rote  Hahn. 

""Ibid.,  Act  II. 


Subject  Matter  31 

his  position  because  the  villagers  consider  that  he  is  sanctioning  im- 
morality. Pendyce  would  disinherit  his  son  because  he  has  dared  to  soil 
his  name.  Sir  William  Cheshire  forces  his  dependent  to  marry  the  girl 
he  has  seduced,  but  refuses  to  let  his  son  make  similar  amends.  Mrs. 
Barthwick  would  have  Jones  incarcerated  as  a  dangerous  person  but  fails 
to  see  the  same  fault  in  her  son.  Chief  among  the  sticklers  for  the  letter 
of  morality  in  contradiction  to  its  spirit  are  the  numerous  ministers  found 
in  Hauptmann's  and  Galsworthy's  pages.  As  these  have  been  mentioned 
earlier  in  the  chapter  no  further  comment  is  necessary  here. 

This  satisfaction  with  the  letter  or  form  of  things  to  the  neglect  of  the 
spirit  is  further  indicated  in  their  satires  on  education  and  reform.  In 
College  Cramp  ton  the  college  that  is  run  on  principles  of  business  and 
rules  instead  of  ability  and  freedom,  is  held  up  to  ridicule.  In  Act  III  of 
Die  Jungfern  vom  Bischofsherg,  the  colloquy  among  the  egotistic  pedant 
Nast,  the  cosmopolitan  adventurer  Griinwald,  the  budding  poet  Otto,  and 
Kozakiewicz,  is  a  satire  on  the  German  system  of  higher  education.  In  Act 
II  of  The  Pigeon,  is  a  similar  satire  on  the  various  methods  of  reforming 
derelicts.  Canon  Bertley  would  have  them  "brace  up" ;  Justice  Hoxton 
would  give  them  a  "sharp  lesson"  and  the  theorist,  Professor  Calway 
would  improve  them  by  "steady  control."  Only  Wellwyn  thinks  of  per- 
sonal help. 

Things  literary  and  dramatic  come  in  for  a  share  of  each  author's  satire. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say  things  unliterary,  since  it  is  the 

ugly  and  conventional  that  rouse  their  ire.     "The  Voice  of "**  is  a 

satire  on  the  vulgarity  and  baseness  of  a  certain  vaudeville  "stunt."  This 
"stunt"  is  a  virtual  blasphemy  against  Beauty.  Almost  as  repellant  is  the 
feature  described  in  Atlantis."  Stoss,  the  armies  violinist,  thrills  his  audi- 
ence by  playing  Gounod's  "Ave  Maria"  with  his  toes.  Inasmuch  as  he  is 
a  survivor  of  the  Roland,  the  emotion  of  the  audience  rises  to  a  sentimen- 
tal, religious  fervor — which  makes  Von  Kammacher  shudder.  Chapter 
IV  of  The  Island  Pharisees  is  a  satire  on  the  conventional  play  and  the 
popular  audience.  In  "The  Plain  Man,"*^  Galsworthy  gibes  the  person 
who  insists  on  a  happy  ending,  and  in  The  Man  of  Property, '^^  the  readers 


"T/i(?  Little  Man  and  Other  Satires. 
"Gesammelte  Werke,  Vol.  6,  p.  343. 
*^The  Little  Man  and  Other  Satires. 
*^The  Man  of  Property,  pp.  35  and  77. 

3 


32  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

of  the  stereotyped  novels.  On  the  other  hand  Hauptmann  satirizes  the 
conventional  stage  manager  and  actor  in  the  pompous  Hassenreuter  (Rat- 

*^")-     ^  fi^  t)6-v.^.  kijL^J  M^iU-;u  ■ 

A  peculiarity  of  the  work  of  both  rwen  is  the  tendency  to  repeat  the 

same  situation  and  characters.  We  have  seen  already  how  often  Haupt- 
mann repeats  the  situation  of  the  unsympathetic  wife's  being  a  hinderance 
to  an  idealistic  husband  and  how  often  Galsworthy  repeats  that  of  the 
woman  who  cannot  love  her  husband.  No  less  than  thirteen  times  does 
Hauptmann  use  what  is  called  the  eternal  triangle.  Usually  it  is  a  man 
drawn  between  two  women.  The  exceptions  are  Elga,  Rose  Bernd,  Die 
Jiingfern  vom  Bischofsberg  and  Und  Pippa  tanzt!  in  the  last  of  which 
the  struggle  is  symbolic.  Only  in  The  Man  of  Property,  The  Fugitive  and 
The  Dark  Flower  does  Galsworthy  use  the  triangle,  altho  it  often  develops 
out  of  the  unhappy  marriage  that  he  so  frequently  treats.  One  of  his 
variations  is  that  of  the  brutal  husband,  used  in  Justice,  "Once  More," 
"Miller  of  Dee,"'^"  "Demos,"^^  and  Fraternity. 

Each  author  works  over  material  he  has  previously  used.  Der  Narr  in 
Christo  is  an  enlargement  of  Der  Apostel,  Fuhrman  Henschel  of  Bahn- 
w'drter  Thiel.  June  and  grandfather  parallel  Pasiance  and  her  grand- 
father; Von  Kammacher's  home  life  parallels  that  of  Vokerat.  The  dying 
wife  figures  in  Bahmvdrter  Thiel,  Fuhrman  Henschel  and  Der  rote  Hahn. 
The  seafaring  physician  Boxer  (rote  H.)  is  paralleled  in  Wilhelm  (At- 
lantis) and  Von  Kammacher.  Frau  Wolff,  Glasenapp,  Leontine  and  Von 
Wehrhahn  appear  in  both  Der  Biherpelz  and  Der  rote  Hahn;  Golish  ap- 
pears in  Vor  Sonnenaufgang  and  Rose  Bernd;  Swithin  Forsythe  in  "Sal- 
vation of  a  Forsythe"  and  The  Man  of  Property;  Ferrand  in  The  Pigeon, 
The  Island  Pharisees,  "A  Simple  Tale"  and  "Compensation."^-  Rasmus- 
sen  figures  in  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht  and  Atlantis;  Nicholas  Treffrey 
in  "Villa  Rubein,"  and  "The  Man  of  Devon";  Pippin,  Old  Jolyon  and 
Hemmings  in  "The  Silence"  and  The  Man  of  Property.  Authors  before 
now  have  repeated  situations  and  characters  but  few  have  had  the  daring 
to  give  the  characters  the  same  names,  or  the  ability  to  play  such  varia- 
tions upon  the  same  situation.  They  please  not  by  creating  the  new  but 
by  varying  the  old. 


""A  Motley. 

°M  Commentary. 

"M  Motley. 


Subject  Matter  33 

The  romanticist  uses  symbols  to  build  up  a  mood,  the  realist  to  create ; 
an  intellectual  concept.  Hauptmann's  and  Galsworthy's  symbols  are  in  • 
almost  every  case  used  in  the  latter  way.  The  intellectual  concept  may 
be  produced  by  proceeding  from  the  abstract  to  the  concrete,  or  from  the 
concrete  to  the  abstract.  As  an  illustration  of  the  first  we  may  take 
Hauptmann's  Und  Pip  pa  tancti  and  Galsworthy's  The  Little  Dream.  The 
idea  that  all  men  pursue  an  ideal  is  made  concrete  thru  real  characters. 
The  idea  that  all  men  waver  between  the  good  and  the  bad,  between  one 
extreme  and  another  is  made  concrete  thru  real  and  allegorical  characters. 
The  latter  method  may  be  illustrated  by  Die  Ratten  and  The  Dark  flower. 
Each  of  these  is  a  complete,  concrete  study  of  real  people.  Yet  the  choice 
of  the  particular  titles  and  the  repeated  references  to  rats  and  dark  flowers 
create  in  the  mind  an  abstract  idea.  From  this  it  must  not  be  inferred  that 
these  are  the  methods  pursued  by  the  authors  in  creating  their  works.  It 
merely  explains  the  process  of  thought  that  takes  place  in  the  mind  of  the 
reader.  The  symbols  may  be  absolute,  psychological,  that  is,  related  to  the 
psychology  of  the  characters,  or  decorative.  If  for  example,  Der  ver- 
sunkene  Glocke  is  interpreted  as  a  representation  of  what  passes  in  Hein- 
rich's  mind,  then  Rautendelein  is  his  conception  of  nature.  If  it  is  not  in- 
terpreted as  a  dream,  then  of  course,  Rautendelein  becomes  an  absolute 
symbol  of  nature — absolute  in  the  sense  that  she  is  not  a  decoration  but  an 
integral  part  of  the  play.  Similarly  are  to  be  considered  the  characters 
of  Und  Pip  pa  tanzt!  and  The  Little  Dream.  In  these  plays,  in  which  the 
symbolism  is  of  primary  importance,  the  whole  play  and  its  parts  are 
symbolic.  But  in  plays  like  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  the  symbolism  is  sec- 
ondary and  not  indispensable. 

Most  of  the  symbols,  both  psychological  and  decorative,  are  much  more 
obvious  and  less  dependent  upon  interpretation.  The  cowslip,  for  in- 
stance, the  himmelschliissel,  is  the  symbol  of  Hannele's  mental  himmel- 
fahrt.  Arme  Heinrich's  leprosy  is  a  symbol,  not  so  much  of  his  physical 
condition  as  of  his  mental.  Grieselda's  patience  and  the  impulse  that 
instinctively  draws  her  to  her  child  (Scene  X)  are  intimately  related  to 
her  inner  being.  On  the  other  hand  the  faithfulness  of  the  spaniel  John, 
is  a  decorative  symbol  of  subserviency  to  Pendyce.  The  phrase  "Bloody 
Justice"  (Weber)  is  a  decorative  symbol  of  coming  vengeance.  The  hawk 
and  rabbit  in  The  Dark  Flower,  Part  I,  the  moths  in  Part  II,  and  Ingi- 


34  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galstvorthy 

gerd's  dance  in  Atlantis  are  not  intimately  related  to  the  psychology  of  the 
characters.  Rather  they  parallel  the  relations  of  Anna  and  Lennon,  Olive 
and  Lennon,  and  Ingigerd  and  Von  Kammacher.  The  reference  to  Abra- 
ham and  Isaac  in  Der  arme  Heinrich  calls  attention  to  the  relation  between 
Heinrich  and  Ottegebe  and  the  idea  of  sacrifice.  The  expression  "The  fire 
is  out"  in  Floriath  Geyer^^  is  similarly  decorative.  As  an  instance  of  the 
combination  of  the  two  kinds  of  symbols  we  may  take  the  situation  at  the 
end  of  von  Wehrhahn's  grandiloquent  speech,^*  when  the  congenital  im- 
becile brays  like  an  ass.  As  a  humorous  comment  on  the  justice,  the  bray- 
ing is  decorative,  as  a  sad  comment  on  the  boy  himself  it  is  psychological. 
Another  example  is  the  term,  der  rote  Hahn.  Der  rote  Hahn  is  the  Ger- 
man symbol  for  incendiarism.  It  is  also  used  by  Hauptmann  in  connec- 
tion with  the  weather  vane.  In  these  two  senses  the  term  is  decorative. 
But  inasmuch  as  incendiarism  and  the  weather  vane  are  closely  linked  with 
the  machinations  of  Frau  WolflF,  it  becomes  a  psychological  symbol,  par- 
ticularly as  Frau  Wolff  dies  just  as  the  vane  is  put  up.  Hauptmann's  sym- 
bols are  generally  psychological,  Galsworthy's  decorative.  Hauptmann 
uses  many  more  than  does  Galsworthy  and  with  much  greater  variety. 
No  matter  how  great  the  intellectual  element,  all  symbols  help  to  produce 
a  mood  and  are  therefore,  to  that  extent,  romantic. 

Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  are  great  lovers  of  nature.  Consequently, 
nature  plays  an  important  role  in  nearly  all  they  have  written.  Of  course, 
it  figures  most  in  their  undrammatic  works,  but  is  seldom  wholly  absent. 
Their  chief  use  of  it  is  to  create  atmosphere.  This  they  do  very  often  by 
making  the  mood  of  nature  parallel  the  event.  By  this  means  they  crieate 
in  a  sense,  a  symbol  of  the  event  itself.  Take  for  example,  "A  Parting,"^^ 
for  which  a  dreary  autumn  day  forms  the  background,  or  the  end  of  Part 
I  of  The  Dark  Flower,  which  has  as  an  accompaniment  wild,  elemental 
nature.  A  storm  precedes  the  breach  between  Antonia  and  Shelton.^" 
The  owl  hoots  and  the  moon  gleams  while  Quint  visits  the  graveyard. ^'^ 
The  moonlight  shines  in  the  window  of  the  almshouse  just  as  Hannele 
begins  her  himmelfahrt.    How  appropriate  too,  is  the  autumn  setting  for 


"End  of  Act  III. 

"Der  rote  Hahn,  Act  III. 

^A  Motley. 

^"The  Island  Pharisees,  Chap.  31. 

^''Der  Narr  in  Christo,  Chap.  21. 


Subject  Matter  35 

Die  Jungfern  vom  Bischofsebrg;  and' the  sultry  weather  as  a  background 
for  Die  Ratten,  and  the  biting  cold  for  that  of  Strife. 

Not  infrequently  nature  or  inanimate  objects  are  personified.  The  grain 
has  a  "patient  surface,"^®  or  the  clothes  "stare  the  daylight  out  of  counte- 
nance,""^ or  the  clock  pines  for  its  fatherland,*'"  or  the  valley  "ist  von 
Reichtum  beschwert  bis  zur  Traurigkeit/'*^^  Galsworthy  personifies  much 
more  than  does  Hauptmann. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  the  treatment  of  nature  they  come  perilously 
near  being  guilty  of  using  the  pathetic  fallacy.  Usually  the  details  can 
be  rationalized  like  Hawthorne's  elements  of  the  supernatural.  There  is 
nothing  improbable  in  their  selection  of  nature's  moods.  "A  Parting" 
might  take  place  in  the  autumn ;  the  moonlight  might  shine  in  the  alms- 
house window  at  that  particular  time;  the  tragedy  of  Die  Ratten  might 
occur  in  sultry  weather.  The  same  thing  is  true  in  the  selection  of  par- 
ticular times.  The  choice  of  Christmas  as  the  time  of  Das  Friedensfest 
is  not  a  sentimental  trick.  It  is  just  as  natural  as  the  selection  of  the 
same  time  in  A  Doll's  House.  On  the  other  hand,  the  use  of  Christmas 
Eve,  New  Year's  and  April  first  as  the  time  settings  of  the  fantastic 
Pigeon  has  a  more  sentimental  basis. 

In  the  novels  and  sketches  particularly,  nature  forms  the  background 
of  man,  and  passages  of  description  are  introduced  as  a  contrast  or  relief 
to  man's  thoughts  and  movements.  Often,  there  are  extended,  but  not  in- 
organic, passages  of  excellent  description  of  nature.  Note  for  example, 
the  opening  of  The  Freelands,  and  passages  in  The  Dark  Flotver,  Atlantis, 
Der  Narr  in  Christo.  Very  beautiful  but  less  organic  are  those  in  Bahn- 
warter  Thiel.  Frequently  the  contemplation  of  nature  results  in  a  flight 
of  imagination  that  is  rich  in  images.  Compare  the  following  passage 
from    Galsworthy    with    almost    any    page    of    Greichischer    Friihling: 

we lay  down  on  the  thyme  and  the  crumbled  leaf-dust 

there  came  to  us  no  sound  but  that  of  the  waves  swimming  in  on  a  gentle 
south  wind.  The  wanton  creatures  seemed  stretching  out  white  arms  to 
the  land,  flying  desperately  from  a  sea  of  such  stupendous  serenity;  and 
over  their  bare  shoulders  their  hair  floated  back,  pale  in  the  sunshine.    If 


■^''Threshing-''  in  The  Inn  of  Tranquillity,  p.  25. 

""My  Distant  Relative"  in  The  Inn  of  Tranquillity,  p.  77. 

*^ Atlantis,  p.  437. 

'^Griechischer  Friihling,  p.  58. 


36  Gerhart  Hauptuiann  and  John  Galsiuorthy 

the  air  was  void  of  sound  it  was  full  of  scent Large  wine-red  violets 

were  growing  near.  On  such  a  clifif  might  Theocritus  have  lain,  spinning 
his  songs ;  on  that  divine  sea  Odysseus  should  have  passed.  And  we  felt 
that  presently  the  goat-god  must  put  his  head  forth  from  behind  a  rock."*'^ 
This  passage  serves  also,  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  Hauptmann 
and  Galsworthy  take  toward  nature  a  positive,  optimistic  attitude.  Nature 
is  not  the  symbol  of  disintegration ;  it  is  a  symbol  of  generation,  of  bud- 
ding beauty.  Neither  is  it  antagonistic  to  man.  Even  the  storm  in  At- 
lantis is  not  a  diabolical  force.  Not  nature  but  man  is  at  fault.  They 
feel  the  mystical  bond  between  man  and  nature,  and  agree  with  Michael 
Kramer's  thought :  "Das  drangt  sich  zur  Einheit  uberall  und  iiber  uns 
liegt  doch  der  Fluch  der  Zerstreuung."°^  That  very  idea  is  symbolically 
represented  in  Heinrich  and  Rautendelein. 


°"The  Inn  of  Tranquillity"  in  The  Inn  of  Tranquillity,  p.  4. 
^Michael  Kramer,  Act  IV,  p.  124. 


III. 

Art. 

Galsworthy  is  often  described  as  a  realist  or  satirist  who  has  made  in 
The  Little  Dream  a  momentary  excursion  into  romance ;  Hauptmann  as 
a  naturalist  who  has  deserted  naturalism  for  idealism,  romance  and  sym- 
bolism. Both  have  been  dubbed  pessimists.  Is  this  an  actual  statement  of 
the  case?  What  do  these  terms  really  signify  and  how  are  they  related  to 
each  other?  It  is  not  the  function  of  this  study  to  go  into  an  explanation 
of  these  hackneyed  and  much  misused  terms.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the 
distinctions  glibly  made  and  accepted  do  not  here  apply.  If  we  mean  by 
satirist  one  who  distorts  the  truth  for  the  sake  of  the  ideal,  then  Gals- 
worthy is  not  a  satirist.  If  we  mean  by  idealist  one  who  pictures  the  world 
as  it  should  be,  then  Hauptmann  is  not  an  idealist.  If  we  mean  by  natural- 
ist what  Sologub  means — "one  who  describes  life  from  the  standpoint  of 
material  satisfaction,"  then  Hauptman  is  not  a  naturalist.  If  by  realist 
we  mean  one  who  pictures  the  world  merely  as  it  is,  then  Galsworthy  is 
no  realist.  Surely  some  term  that  will  comprehend  more  than  mere  sub- 
ject matter  and  treatment  is  needed  to  explain  the  work  of  these  two  men. 
This  is  afforded  by  Galsworthy  himself  in  his  "Vague  Thoughts  on  Art."" 
For  the  purpose  of  this  study,  therefore,  we  can  do  no  better  than  to 
accept  his  definitions  in  their  entirety. 

"What,"  he  says,  "is  Realism? Is  it  descriptive  of  technique,  on 

descriptive  of  the  spirit  of  the  artist;   or  both,  or  neither? To  me 

the  words  realism,  realistic  have  no  longer  reference  to  technique, 

for  which  the  words  naturalism,  naturalistic,  serve  far  better.  Nor  have 
they  to  do  with  the  question  of  imaginative  power — as  much  demanded  by 
realism  as  by  romanticism.  For  me,  a  realist  is  by  no  means  tied  to  natu- 
ralistic technique — he  may  be  poetic,  idealistic,  fantastic,  impressionistic, 
anything  but — romantic ;  that  in  so  far  as  he  is  a  realist,  he  cannot  be. 
The  word,  in  fact,  characterizes  that  artist  whose  temperamental  preoc- 
cupation is  with  revelation  of  the  actual  inter-relating  spirit  of  life,  char- 


'^The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 


38  Gcrhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

acter  and  thought,  with  a  view  to  enlighten  himself  and  others;  as  dis- 
tinguished from  that  artist whom  I  call  romantic whose  tem- 
peramental purpose  is  invention  of  tale  or  design  with  a  view  to  delight 
himself  and  others.  It  is  a  question  of  temperamental  antecedent  motive 
in  the  artist,  and  nothing  more. 

"Realist.  .Romanticist!  Enlightenment — Delight!  That  is  the  true  ap- 
position. To  make  a  revelation — to  tell  a  fairy-tale !  And  either  of  these 
artists  may  use  what  form  he  likes — naturalistic,  fantastic,  poetic,  impres- 
sionistic. For  it  is  not  by  the  form,  but  the  purpose  and  mood  of  his  art 
that  he  shall  be  known  as  one  or  as  the  other." 

To  paraphrase  him  further — the  realist's  mood  is  one  of  brooding  over 
life,  of  contemplating  its  spiritual  adventures,  of  making  clear  the  vary- 
ing traits  and  emotions  of  human  character,  and  the  varying  moods  of 
nature. 

If  we  apply  this  test  to  the  work  of  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  we 
discover  that  both  men  are  realists,  that  is,  both  have  the  temperamental 
purpose  to  enlighten  rather  than  to  delight — altho  to  delight  themselves 
and  others  is  not  incompatible  with  enlightening.  Both  brood  over  life, 
contemplate  its  spiritual  adventures,  malce  clear  the  varying  traits  and 
emotions  of  human  character,  and  the  varying  moods  of  nature.  Both 
point  out  moral  values  and  see  the  irony  in  things.  Both  are  idealists, 
for  they  have  a  vision  of  an  ideal — of  life  and  beauty.  But  before  every- 
thing else  they  are  artists  trying  to  represent  life  as  they  see  it.  Both  are 
seeking  the  truth,  material  and  spiritual.  )  That  is  why  Huneker  calls 
Hauptmann  a  "transcendental  realist,"  and  Skemp  calls  Galsworthy  "an 
idealist  with  a  passion  for  the  actual." 

This  is  the  explanation  of  what  is  commonly  regarded  as  an  anomaly  in 
the  work  of  Hauptmann  and  as  a  tour  de  force  in  the  work  of  Galsworthy. 
Both  men  illustrate  the  truth  of  the  fact  that  the  idealistic  and  naturalistic 
elements,  instead  of  being  diametrically  opposed  are  not  only  compatible 
but  complementary.  That  is  why  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  have  writ- 
ten such  very  different  plays  as  Vor  Sonnenaiifgang  and  Und  Pippa  tanst! 
and  Strife  and  The  Little  Dream.  Rarely,  however,  are  these  elements  so 
delicately  balanced  as  in  Hauptmann.  That  this  view  is  justified  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  symbolism  is  only  another  side  of  naturalism. 

Galsworthy  has  recognized  this  twofold  tendency  of  modern  drama, 


Art  39 

while  Hauptmann  has  abundantly  contributed  to  it.  The  renascent  drama 
Galsworthy  says  will  in  coming  years  follow  these  two  channels.  "The 
one  will  be  the  broad  and  clear-cut  channel  of  naturalism  down  which  will 
come  a  drama  poignantly  shaped  and  inspired  with  high  intention,  but 
faithful  to  the  seething  and  multiple  life  around  us,  drama  such  as  some 
are  inclined  to  term  photographic,  deceived  by  a  seeming  simplicity  of  the 
old  proverb  'ars  est  celare  artem'  and  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  to  be  vital, 
to  grip,  such  drama  is  in  every  respect  as  dependent  on  imagination,  con- 
struction, selection,  and  elimination — the  main  laws  of  artistry — as  ever 

was  the  romantic  or  rhapsodic  play The  other will,  I  think, 

be  a  twisting  and  delicious  stream,  which  will  bear  on  its  breast  new 
barques  of  poetry,  shaped,  it  may  be,  like  prose,  but  prose  incarnating 
thru  its  fantasy  and  symbolism  all  the  deeper  aspirations,  yearning, 
doubts,  and  mysterious  stirrings  of  the  human  spirit;  a  poetic  prose- 
drama,  emotionalizing  us  by  its  diversity  and  purity  of  form  and  inven- 
tion, and  whose  province  will  be  to  disclose  the  elemental  soul  of  man  and 
the  forces  of  nature,  not  perhaps  as  the  old  tragedies  disclosed  them,  not 
necessarily  in  the  epic  mood,  but  always  with  beauty  and  in  the  spirit  of 
discovery."''^ 

That  art  is  the  expression  of  a  personality,  is  recognized  by  both  authors. 
Indeed,  Hauptmann  has  used  these  identical  words  in  his  preface  to  his 
collected  works.  "Art,"  says  Galsworthy,  "is  the  perfected  expression  of 
self  in  contact  with  the  world. "^®  This  latter  idea  Hauptmann  puts  in  a 
silghtly  different  form :  Was  ware  ein  Dichter,  dessen  Wesen  nicht  der 
gesteigerte  Ausdruck  der  Volkseele  ist!"®^  Their  conceptions  of  art,  it 
will  be  noticed,  are  in  essential  agreement.  Moreover  they  agree  in  prac- 
tice. The  most  naturalistic  plays  of  Hauptmann  reveal  behind  them  a 
definite  temperament,  and  the  most  symbolic  of  his  plays,  the  careful  ob- 
servation of  fundamental  and  permanent  elements  of  human  nature.  This 
was  in  reality  his  purpose  in  using  old  legends,  to  interpret  them  accord- 
ing to  modern  psychology. 

While  both  authors  see  the  world  thru  a  temperament,  they  do  not  dis- 
tort the  truth  either  by  selection  or  omission.    Neither  do  they  spoil  their 


""Platitudes  concerning  Drama"  in  The  Inn  of  Tranquillity,  p.  277. 
'*"Vague  Thoughts  on  Art"  in  The  Inn  of  Tranquillity,  p.  277. 
"Griechischer  FrUhling,  p.  103. 


40  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsivorthy 

works  by  subjectivity.  As  dramatists  they  recognize  that  a  play  must  have 
objectivity,  inevitability  and  no  immediate  moral.  Moral  codes,  says  Gals- 
worthy, do  not  last,  but  a  true  picture  of  life  does.  Moreover,  a  true 
story,  if  told  sincerely,  is  the  strongest  moral  argument  that  can  be  put 
upon  the  stage. 

Objectivity,  inevitability  and  no  immediate  moral  are  best  attained  thru 
naturalistic  art,  which  is  "like  a  steady  lamp  held  up  from  time  to  time,  in 
whose  light  things  are  seen  for  a  space  clearly  and  in  due  proportion, 
freed  from  the  mists  of  prejudice  and  partisanship."®^  "A  Novelist's  Al- 
legory"^^  is  an  artistic  expression  of  the  same  thought. 

The  dominant  modern  drama  deals  with  ordinary  people  struggling  with 
their  environment.  The  protagonist  of  a  modern  drama  is  not  beset  by 
enemies  but  by  the  limitations  of  his  life.  Hence,  the  interest  centers  not 
so  much  in  what  he  does  as  in  what  he  thinks  and  feels;  not  so  much  in 
action,  but  as  Hauptmann  says,  in  the  psychological  state  which  causes  the 
action.  This  means  that  action  is  giving  way  to  being.  Hauptmann  him- 
self champions  this  conception  of  drama.  In  the  preface  to  his  collected 
works^°  he  has  succinctly  stated  his  point  of  view. 

"Allem  Denken  liegt  Anschauung  zu  grimde.  Auch  ist  das  Denken  ein 
Ringen :  also  dramatisch.  Jeder  Philosoph,  der  das  System  seiner  logi- 
schen  Konstruktionen  vor  uns  hinstellt,  hat  es  aus  Entscheidungen  errich- 
tet,  die  er  in  den  Parteistreitigkeiten  der  Stimmen  seines  Innern  getroflfen 
hat :  demnach  halte  ich  das  Drama  f  iir  den  Ausdruck  urspriinglicher 
Denktatigkeit,  auf  hoher  Entwicklungsstufe,  freilich  ohne  dasz  jene  Ent- 
scheidungen getroffen  werden,  auf  die  es  dem  Philosophen  ankommt. 

"Aus  dieser  Anschauungsart  ergeben  sich  Reihen  von  Folgerungen,  die 
das  Gebiet  des  Dramas  iiber  das  der  herrschenden  Dramaturgieen  nach 
alien  Seiten  hin  unendlich  erweitern,  so  dasz  nichts,  was  sich  dem  ausseren 
Oder  inneren  Sinn  darbietet,  von  dieser  Denkform,  die  zur  Kunstform 
geworden  ist,  ausgeschlossen  werden  kann."  There  could  be  no  better 
proof  of  the  dramatic  quality  of  thought  than  Hauptmann's  own  dream 
play  Hannele. 

The  other  elements  of  his  theory  of  drama  are  given  in  manager  Has- 


■"' Platitudes  Concerning  Drama"  in  The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 
^The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 
"1906  Edition. 


Art  41 

senreuter's  attack  on  his  pupil  Spitta.^"^  "Sie  beweisen  es  selbst,  wenn  Sie 
den  Mund  auftun ! — Sie  leugnen  die  Kunst  des  Sprechens,  das  Organ, 
und  wollen  die  Kunst  des  organlosen  Quakens  dafiir  einsetzen !  Sie  leug- 
nen die  Handlung  im  Drama  und  behaupten,  dasz  sie  ein  wertloses  Akzi- 
denz,  eine  Sache  fiir  Griindlinge  ist.  Sie  negieren  die  poetische  Gerech- 
tigkeit,  Schuld  und  Suhne,  die  Sie  als  pobelhafte  Erfindung  bezeichnen: 
eine  Tatsache,  wodurch  die  sittliche  Weltordnung  durch  Euer  Hochwohl- 
geboren  gelehrten  und  verkehrten  Verstand  aufgehoben  ist.  Von  den 
Hohen  der  Menschheit  wissen  Sie  nichts.     Sie  haben  neulich  behauptet, 

dasz  unter  Umstanden  ein  Barbier  oder  eine  Reinmachef  ran ebenso- 

gut  ein  Objekt  der  Tragodie  sein  konnte  als  Lady  Macbeth  und  Konig 
Lear."  To  which  Spitta  replies  calmly:  ''Vor  der  Kunst  wie  vor  dem 
Gesetz  sind  alle  Menschen  gleich." 

Galsworthy's  theory  of  dramatic  art  is  given  in  his  "Platitudes  Con- 
cerning Drama."  There  he  says  "The  Plot !  A  good  plot  is  that  sure 
edifice  which  slowly  arises  out  of  the  interplay  of  circumstance  on  tem- 
perament, and  temperament  on  circumstance,  within  the  encJosing  atmos- 
phere of  an  idea.    A  human  being  is  the  best  plot  there  is; He  is 

organic."  In  another  connection,  he  says  of  himself :  "Comment  on  the 
physical  facts  of  the  situation  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  one  who 
by  disposition  and  training  is  concerned  with  states  of  mind."^- 

What  Galsworthy  has  said  is  not  exactly  the  same  as  what  Hauptmann 
has  said,  yet  a  careful  examination  of  their  statements  will  reveal  the 
similarity  of  the  theories  of  drama  that  they  hold.  The  idea  of  man  as  a 
plot  must  include  not  merely  his  actions,  but  his  thoughts,  feelings  and 
dreams.  Nor  does  it  limit  man  to  any  social  position.  All  are  equal  be- 
fore art.  Practically  the  only  difference  between  the  two  theories  is  that 
Galsworthy's  places  more  emphasis  on  action  than  does  Hauptmann's.  Both 
artists  agree  that  "drama  need  not  embody  a  story  of  human  experience ; 
it  need  only  be  a  picture  of  human  existence,  real  or  imagined."  And  "this 
picture  may  be  so  typical,  so  representative,  as  in  itself  to  constitute  a 
criticism  of  life,  a  judgment  of  society,  or  an  ideal  striving  of  the  human 

soul."'*    Life's  struggles  are  not  so  important  as  life  itself College 

Crampton,  and  The  Pigeon,  for  example. 


"Dit-  Ratten,  Act  III,  p.  97. 

""Diagnosis  of  the  Englishman"  in  A  Sheaf. 

^'A.  Henderson:    The  Chan'Aus  Drama. 


42  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

As  Hassenreuter  advises  his  pupil  Spitta  after  the  tragedy  that  has 
just  taken  place  before  them  "Sic  cunt  fata  hominum.  Erlinden  Sie  so 
was  mal,  guter  Spitta."^* 

Drama  conceived  on  the  principles  "Man  is  the  best  plot"  and  "thinking 
is  dramatic,''  is  concerned  less  W\X\\  what  people  do  than  with  what  they 
are.  Hence  there  is  little  of  what  is  called  plot  or  story.  What  plot  there 
is  consists  chiefly  in  revelation  of  character.  Perhaps  the  nearest  ap- 
proach to  story  in  Hauptmann  is  to  be  found  in  his  Der  Biberpelz.  The 
story  of  Hannelc  is  Hannele's  vision  of  her  reception  into  heaven.  In 
Schluck  und  Jau  the  plot  is  the  entertainment  of  two  good-for-nothings 
for  the  enjoyment  of  the  entertainers.  That  of  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel  is 
Karl's  struggle  between  duty  and  love  for  a  young  hostage.  In  Justice,  a 
man  raises  a  check  to  help  a  needy  woman,  goes  to  jail  and  never  after 
is  able  to  free  himself  from  the  stigma.  In  The  Fugitive,  an  inexper- 
ienced woman  leaves  her  husband  and  gets  into  the  toils.  In  The  Mob, 
2L  man  with  a  vision  of  higher  justice  is  deserted  by  friends  and  relatives 
and  killed  by  a  mob. 

If  these  authors  do  not  give  much  plot  they  compensate  with  atmos- 
phere. In  Die  Weber  the  atmosphere  is  a  kind  of  ghastliness ;  in  Die  ver- 
sunkene  Glocke  it  is  the  spirit  of  elemental  nature ;  in  Die  Ratten,  the 
closeness,  foulness  of  a  slum  tenement ;  in  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  the 
freedom,  vigor,  lure  of  the  sea,  that  is  comparable  to  the  lure  of  the  sea  in 
The  Lady  from  the  Sea.  In  A  Bit  o'  Love,  it  is  parochial  repression ;  in 
The  Pigeon,  a  kind  of  pensive  geniality ;  in  Strife,  uncharitable  hardness. 
The  successful  creation  of  atmosphere  is  due  to  the  sensitiveness  of  both 
authors  to  the  value  of  details  and  their  careful  selection  of  them,  but 
especially  to  their  use  of  symbols  and  moods  of  nature.  The  latter  ele- 
ments, that  is,  the  use  of  symbols  and  nature  have  already  been  discussed. 
The  former  element,  selection  of  detail,  will  be  discussed  later  in  this 
chapter. 

Milieu,  which  is  a  combination  of  environment  and  atmosphere,  is  re- 
garded as  the  chief  feature  of  what  is  generally  called  Naturalism.  One'^ 
writing  on  the  subject,  says :  "The  artistic  element  of  naturalism  is  the 
impression  received  from  the  total  picture  made  up  of  details.    A  char- 


''*Die  Ratten,  Act  III,  end. 

"A.  Stoeckius :   Naturalism  in  Recent  German  Drama,  p.  38. 


Art  43 

acter  does  not  stand  out  any  more  prominently  than  the  other  details  of 
the  milieu,  he  is  not  any  more  or  less  real  than  the  other  objects.     He 

forms  a  part  of  the  whole The  question  of  reality  of  characters 

which  is  usually  pointed  out  as  Hauptmann's  strong  side,  is  only  second- 
ary, since  it  is  not  the  artistic  element  of  naturalism."  While  this  state- 
ment is  true,  it  is  not  the  whole  truth.  Hauptmann  is  not  a  naturalist  in 
the  usually  accepted  sense  of  the  word,  and  critics  have  not  failed  to  note 
the  fact.  One  says  his  "naturalism  from  the  very  beginning  showed  a 
deep-seated  distrust  of  the  materialism  of  the  realists  [i.  e.  naturalists]. 
His  interest  lay  not  in  the  physical  fortunes  of  men  but  in  their  psychical 
experiences."^^  Milieu  soon  gave  way,  in  his  work,  to  character.  In  his 
choice  of  legends  as  subjects,  in  his  use  of  symbols  and  verse  he  has  risen 
above  so-called  naturalism,  but  especially  has  he  risen  above  it  in  regard- 
ing man  as  more  than  a  mere  animal  for  scientific  experimentation,  as  a 
being  with  a  spiritual  element  which  is  independent  of,  and  in  conflict  with 
the  physical."" 

A  comparison  of  Hauptmann's  with  Galsworthy's  plays  will  reveal  what 
seems  to  be  a  severer  selection  of  detail  in  Galsworthy's  plays.  While  this 
is  true,  the  real  difference  in  selection  is  not  so  much  in  degree  as  in  kind. 
The  effect  they  desire  to  produce  is  somewhat  different.  Hauptmann's 
purpose  is  to  illuminate  the  entire  neighborhood  not  for  its  own  sake,  but 
to  make  the  character  complete.  Take  his  College  Crampton,  Der  Biber- 
pelz,  Der  rote  Hahn,  for  example.  Galsworthy's  method  is  to  put  the 
spotlight  on  a  few  characters.  Hauptmann  carefully  selects ;  Galsworthy 
selects  and  arranges.  A  few  illustrations  will  serve  to  indicate  the  differ- 
ence. Frau  Lachmann  (Mich.  K.)  is  not  needed  so  far  as  the  story  goes, 
but  her  presence  and  words  explain  Lachmann's  attitude  toward  her  bet- 
ter than  an  infinite  number  of  words  could  possibly  do.  Die  Nachbarin 
(Vers.  G.)  is  necessary  to  convey  information  that  could  not  be  conveyed 
by  soliloquy  or  otherwise,  and  to  personalize  the  village  people.  The 
Livens  case  (Sil.  B.)  has  absolutely  nothing  to  do  with  the  Jones  case, 
yet  it  serves  two  purposes,  to  give  reality  to  the  magistrate's  court,  and 
to  afford  a  parallel  to  the  Jones  case.    This  juxtaposition  doubles  the  value 


"P.  H.  Grumman:    Poet  Lore,  21,  p.  285. 

"It  might  be  well  to  recur  to  the  distinctions  made  on  page  37.  As  used  in  this 
study,  realism,  realistic  apply  to  motive,  naturalism,  naturalistic  to  method.  By 
naturalism  is  not  meant  photography,  or  lack  of  selection. 


44  Gerhart  Haitptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

of  the  detail  and  makes  for  economy.  Just  there  is  the  difference  between 
Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy.  Hauptmann's  details  are  selected  for  them- 
selves, Galsworthy's  for  the  light  they  may  throw  on  other  details.  An- 
other case  in  point  is  the  introduction  of  the  pups  in  The  Eldest  Son.  This 
use  of  detail  is  somewhat  symbolic.  There  is  no  denying  the  fact  that 
Hauptmann  does  sometimes  admit  what  seems  extrinsic,  like  discussions 
on  Greece  (G.  S.  F.)  or  education  (Jung,  von  B.)  But  these  may  be 
explained  as  in  character.  More  serious  is  his  introduction  of  Hopslabar 
(Vor.  S.)  or  Eine  alte  Frau  (Florian).  On  the  other  hand  consider  how 
closely  wrought  a  play  is  Der  Biherpels. 

"Since  the  adventurous,  and  unwonted  are  rigidly  excluded,  dramatic 

complication  can  but  rarely  proceed  from  an  action.     It  follows 

that  conflict  must  grow  from  the  clash  of  character  with  environment  or 
of  character  with  character  in  its  totality."^^  When  thinking  is  dramatic 
it  /allocs  that  an  act  of  a  play  will  be  largely  discussion,  and  that  action 
OT^ncident  will  take  place  often  between  the  acts.  Such  is  the  case  in 
Rose  Bernd,  [).ie  Ratten,  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel.  Galsworthy,  however, 
^emphasizes  less  What  is  thought  and  more  what  is  done.  Hence  it  follows, 
that  there  is  more  incident  in  his  plays.  In  The  Silvef^  Box,  theft,  arrest 
and  trial  take  place  on  the  stage ;  in  Justice,  arrest  and  trial.  In  The  Mob 
the  house  is  stormed  and  More  slain.  In  A  Bit  o'  Love,  as  in  Michael 
Kramer,  there  is  a  fracas.  On  the  other  hand,  some  plays  have  scarcely 
any  action.  Das  Friedensfest,  Joy,  The  Pigeon  and  The  Eldest  Son. 

Man  as  a  product  of  heredity  and  environment  is  in  himself  neither 
hero  nor  villian.  Neither  is  one  individual  all  important.  But  a  protag- 
onist is  necessary.  He  is  however,  neither  all  good  nor  all  bad ;  he  has 
the  strength  and  the  weakness  of  human  nature.  Often  he  is  a  victim 
rather  than  an  offender.  Falder  raises  a  check  out  of  weakness  of  will 
but  with  a  desire  to  do  a  kindness.  When  caught  in  the  machine  of  jus- 
tice hei  is  doomed.  Jones  goes  to  jail,  while  Jack  goes  free  for  the  same 
offense.  Frau  John's  intense  desire  for  a  child  leads  to  crime  and  death. 
Rose  Bernd's  love  for  Flamm  leads  to  downfall  and  crime.  Very  often 
it  is  not  a  positive  offense  but  merely  human  weakness  or  harsh  environ- 
ment that  leads  to  ruin,  as  with  Schilling,  Arnold  Kramer,  Helen  Krause. 
Not  infrequently  the  characters  are  benighted,  helpless,  unattractive  and 
gray  at  heart. 


"L.  Lewisohn :    Introduction  to  Dramatic  Works  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann. 


Art  45 

We  do  not  love  Hauptmann's  and  Galsworthy's  characters  because  they 
are  good  or  hate  them  because  they  are  bad ;  rather  we  sympathize  with 
them  because  they  are  human.  We  have  for  them  a  kind  of  Christian 
tolerance  for  their  imperfections.  And  thru  their  imperfections  we  see 
our  own.  Therefore  our  suffering  is  partly  egotistical  and  emotional,  and 
partly  altruistic  and  intellectual.  We  realize  that  life  may  be  more  tragic 
than  death, — instance  Mrs.  Megan  (Pigeon),  Clare  (Fugitive),  Frau 
John  (Ratten). 

It  is  evident  that  this  drama  has  nothing  to  do,  as  we  have  heard  from 
Hassenreuter,  with  poetic  justice.  Helen,  the  only  deserving  person  in 
Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  is  driven  to  suicide.  Frau  Fielitz  (Rote  H.)  tho 
guilty  of  incendiarism,  dies  a  natural  death  without  qualms.  Hannele, 
The  Pigeon,  Schluck  und  Jau,  Joy,  have  themes  that  cannot  be  solved  by 
rewards  or  punishments. 

In  spite  of  this  fact  the  conclusions  of  the  plays  are  tha  inevitable  out- 
growth of  the  characters  and  situation — which  is  to  say,  as  inevitable  as 
fate.  This  holds  good  even  in  the  symbolic  plays.  Hauptmann's  char- 
acters, even  when  symbols,  are  human  and  act  consistently  according  to 
their  natures.  Hellriegel  and  Huhn  (U.  P.  t.)  must  act  according  to  their 
definite  human  characteristics.  The  inevitability  of  The  Little  Dream 
arises  from  the  definite  character  of  Seelchen,  the  human  soul,  even  in  a 
dream  state.  To  make  the  end  seem  inevitable  it  is  necessary  to  cast 
shadows  before.  This  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  do  most  skillfully. 
Old  Hilse's  death  (Weber)  is  foreshadowed  by  the  toll  of  the  funeral  bell 
and  Mother  Hilse's  lament  that  she  is  so  long  a-dying.  Roberts'  and  An- 
thony's defeat  (Strife)  is  foreshadowed  in  the  attitude  of  the  men  and 
directors.  Helen's  death  is  foreshadowed  by  her  fear  of  what  will  happen 
to  her  if  Loth  should  leave  her.  Frau  Fielitz's  death  is  foreseen  in  the 
doctor's  warnings  about  getting  excited.  Freda's  attitude  is  foreseen  in 
her  speech  to  Bill  at  the  end  of  Act  I.    The  outcome  of  The  Silver  Box 

is  forecasted  by  Jack's  words  at  the  every  opening:  "I'm  a  Liberal 

we're  all  equal  before  the  law — tha's  rot,  tha's  silly."  Heinrich's  defeat 
(Vers.  G.)  is  foretold  in  the  attitude  of  the  wood-sprite  and  the  dwarfs. 

An  objection  made  to  naturalistic  art  is  that  it  seizes  upon  the  momen- 
tary rather  than  the  permanent.  The  answer  to  this  is:  do  not  these 
momentary  conditions  in  the  individual  represent  so-called  permanent  con- 


46  CerJiart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsivorthy 

ditions  of  the  age?  And  further,  is  there  anything  more  permanent  than 
character?  Naturalistic  art  suggests  the  eternal  and  infinite  thru  the 
momentary  and  finite.  The  words  of  Wann  well  express  the  idea  :  "Sehen 
Sie  sich  so  ein  Tierchen  mal  an.  Wenn  ich  es  tue — so  hore  ich  formlich 
die  Spharen  donnern  !"^® 

Nor  does  the  selection  of  a  moment  from  the  lives  of  the  characters  in- 
hibit movement.  Movement  consists  largely  of  changes  in  the  emotions 
of  the  characters,  and  in  the  relations  of  the  characters  with  each  other. 
In  Hauptmann  this  is  virtually  the  only  kind  of  movement.  In  Gals- 
worthy there  is  in  addition  the  movement  arising  from  incident  or  action, 
as  already  noted  under  the  head  of  action.  Both  authors  select  the  critical 
or  dramatic  moment  in  the  lives  of  their  characters  not  because  it  is 
an  extraordinary  moment  but  because  the  ordinary  by  accumulative  force 
has  risen  to  a  crisis.  In  like  maner,  tho  movement  consists  of  changes  in 
emotion,  it  does  not  imply  change  in  the  nature  or  temperament  of  the 
characters.  When  characters  are  presented  in  a  moment  of  time,  and 
when  it  is  the  trivial,  commonplace  act  repeated  every  day  and  not  the 
exceptional  act  done  once  in  a  lifetime  that  determines  one's  fortune  and 
makes  character — which  is  fate,  these  characters  can  hardly  be  anything 
but  static.  That  Hauptmann's  characters  have  "few  and  fixed  ideas"*** 
is  true  because,  after  all,  isn't  it  true  of  life  in  general  and  the  uneducated 
in  particular?  "That  they  do  not  evolve  new  ideas  from  within  or  admit 
them  from  without,"^**  is  another  way  of  saying  that  character  is  fate. 
And  the  same  may  be  said  of  Galsworthy's  characters.  That  their  char- 
acters are  static  may  be  due  to  several  reasons.  They  are  exhibited  for  a 
moment  only,  and  character  does  not  change  in  a  moment — not  even  when 
that  moment  is  a  crucial  one.  Unless  the  moment  is  of  such  great  power 
as  to  overbalance  the  accumulated  force  of  the  past,  it  will  not  greatly 
change  character — and  these  moments  are  not  compatible  with  the  theory 
of  naturalistic  technique.  That  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  believe  in  the 
the  possibility  of  modification  in  character  is  proved  by  their  emphasis  on 
environment — for  the  idea  environment  presupposes  dynamics — evolution. 
Tho  the  fact  is  not  driven  home  to  us,  Falder  and  Rose  are  much  changed 
by  their  experiences.    As  better  examples  take  Hughs  (Frat)  who  returns 


"""Und  Pippa  tanzt!"  Act  III,  p.  65. 

'"Otto  Heller  :  Studies  in  Modern  German  Literature. 


Art  47 

a  broken  man,  and  arme  Heinrich  who  returns  redeemed.  Or  take  an-, 
other  kind  of  ilkistration.  Would  Vokerat  and  Helen  have  committed 
suicide  if  their  spiritual  vision  had  not  been  broadened  beyond  the  horizon 
of  their  immediate  enviornments  ?  Is  not  Joy's  understanding  of  her 
mother  due  to  a  change?  Is  not  Clare's  leaving  home  due  to  a  previous 
spiritual  expansion  ? 

In  the  depiction  of  characters  Hauptmann  is  interested  in  the  characters 
themselves,  Galsworthy  in  the  relations  existing  between  the  characters. 
Hauptmann's  interest  is  in  the  people,  Galsworthy's  in  the  problem. 
Hauptmann's  analysis  of  character  is  emotional,  Galsworthy's  intellectual. 
Both  tho,  handle  characters  with  delicacy,  tolerance  and  sympathy,  even 
when  they  represent  views  opposed  to  their  own.  To  illustrate,  Haupt- 
mann's characters  commit  wrong  because  they  are  forced  by  circum- 
stances ;  Galsworthy's  while  forced  feel  indignation.  Jones  for  example, 
refuses  to  get  out  of  his  difficulty  as  easily  as  possible  by  making  restitu- 
tion, because  he  desires  to  "score  off"  Jack.  To  that  extent  Hauptmann's 
characters  are  passive  and  Galsworthy's  active.  Galsworthy's  have  a  sense 
of  direction  and  a  realization  of  results  that  is  often  lacking  in  Haupt- 
mann's. This  may  be  due  in  part  to  the  class  from  which  the  characters 
are  drawn  and  the  difference  in  their  education  and  outlook ;  but  it  is 
more  probably  due  to  difference  in  analysis  of  the  characters.  Compare 
Heinrich  (Vers.  G.)  and  More,  or  Rose  and  Clare.  Heinrich  strives  for 
his  ideal  by  fleeing  from  life.  More  by  staying  in  the  turmoil.  Heinrich  is 
driven  by  his  emotions,  to  such  an  extent,  that  he  forgets  his  family. 
More  is  driven  by  an  intellectual  conviction,  and  consciously  sees  his  fam- 
ily desert  him.  Rose  is  drawn  on  by  the  innocence  and  inexperience  of 
her  nature  to  commit  an  offense  the  consequences  of  which  she  cannot 
escape.  Clare  enters  the  arena  with  her  eyes  wide  open.  Galsworthy's 
characters  are  generally  masters  of  themselves,  probably  because  of  con- 
scious restraint  for  many  generations.  Most  of  them  have  strong  wills — 
More,  Clare,  Strangway,  Hilary,  Roberts,  Anthony.  It  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  often  it  is  bull-headedness  rather  than  will  that  the  characters 
exhibit,  for  example,  Sir  William  and  Pendyce.  Not  many  of  Haupt- 
mann's characters  have  strong  wills — Anna  Mahr,  Michael  Kramer,  Kaiser 
Karl,  Lucy  Heil,  Griselda,  Quint.  The  explanation  of  this  difference  be- 
tween Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  probably  is  that  Hauptmann  is  inter- 

4 


48  Gcrhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

ested  in  the  psychological  states  of  the  characters,  with  or  without  refer- 
ence to  their  moral  actions,  and  Galsworthy  in  the  moral  actions  as  an  ex- 
pression of  the?  mental  condition.  This  explains  Hauptmann's  interest  in 
pathological  cases,  and  the  fact  that  his  women  show  moral  weakness  of 
character  and  his  men  spiritual  weakness. 

"Hauptmann's  success  in  depiction  of  emotional  states  is  due  not  only 
to  his  great  psychological  insight,  but  also  to  his  rare  skill  in  utilizing  just 
those  elements  in  the  environment  of  his  characters  that  make  them  in- 
telligible."^^ While  Galsworthy  is  not  as  subtle  a  psychologist  as  Haupt- 
mann, he  is  perhaps  equally  careful  to  make  his  characters  intelligible  by 
the  use  of  the  proper  elements  in  their  environment.  Both  recognize  that 
environment  determines  and  completes  man.  Therefore  every  object 
brought  into  a  drama  must  have  definite  value.  Likewise  every  gesture, 
facial  expression,  word  must  contribute  its  share  to  the  total  impression, 
and  too,  help  to  interpret  the  temperament,  and  mental  condition  of  the 
character.  As  psychologists  both  recognize  that  no  definite  line  divides 
conscious  from  subconscious  activity.  Drama  conceived  on  the  principles 
"thinking  is  dramatic"  and  "man  is  the  best  plot"  must  recognize  the 
validity  of  the  inner  life — dreams,  hallucinations  and  imaginings.  There- 
fore, when  in  Hannele  the  thoughts  of  the  child's  distempered  mind,  and  in 
The  Little  Dream  the  dream  of  Seelchen,  are  represented  before  us,  they 
are  not  only  dramatic,  but  the  line  which  divides  the  psychical  from  the 
factual  is  indiscernible.  Neither  author  treats  this  world  of  thought  from 
a  romantic  motive. 

Hauptmann  has  been  most  successful  in  the  use  of  the  dream  device. 
He  used  it  in  Blga,  Schluck  und  Jau  and  Die  versunkene  Glocke  if  that  play 
is  so  interpreted.  Galsworthy  has  used  it  in  his  stories  "Salvation  of  a 
Forsythe"  and  "The  Silence,"  tho  not  very  successfully.  In  The  Mob, 
the  dream  is  used  as  a  telepathic  communication  about  an  actual  event.®^ 
In  The  Dark  Flower  it  is  used  symbolically  to  forecast  an  actual  event.*' 
The  dream  in  "Sekhet,"**  "Reveille,"*'*  "Reverie  of  a  Sportsman"*"  serves 
to  clothe  the  allegorical  content.    In  these  latter  cases  the  dreams  are  not 


"P.  H.  Grumman:   Poet  Lore,  22,  p.  117. 

"The  Mob,  Act  III,  Sc.  II. 

"The  Dark  Flower,  Part  II,  Chap.  IV. 

**The  Little  Man  and  Other  Satires. 

^'A  Sheaf. 

"Ibid. 


Art  49 

so  much  psychological  as  symbolical.  Dreams  and  manifestations  of  a 
disturbed  mental  condition  are  numerous  in  the  works  of  Hauptmann,  too 
numerous  to  be  noted  specifically.  The  most  striking  examples  are  Schil- 
ling's dream  of  the  fisherman's  net  f  Von  Kammacher's  dream  on  the 
Roland,'^®  or  his  fevered  hallucination  during  his  illness  f^  Thiel's  ecstasy 
during  which  his  dead  wife  reappears  to  him.^**  Somewhat  similar  to 
Thiel's  experience  is  Derek's  when  haunted  by  Tryst's  ghost. "^  Tho 
Galsworthy  does  not  generally  treat  disordered  mental  phenomena,  lie 
does  like  Hauptmann  indulge  in  what  might  be  called,  day-dreaming  or 
seeing  mental  pictures.  There  is  in  this,  nothing  abnormal.  It  is  merely 
visualizing  what  memory  and  imagination,  awakened  by  some  object  or 
fact  have  conjured  up.  The  most  notable  examples  in  Galsworthy  are  in 
"Memories,"  in  which  a  faithful  dog  reappears  to  his  mistress  f^  in  his 
"Old  Time  Place,"  in  which  he  sees  in  his  mind's  eye  the  slave-market  of 
yore.^^  Only  by  reading  Griechischer  Friihling  do  we  come  to  realize  the 
extent  to  which  Hauptmann  is  addicted  to  day-dreaming. 

Not  merely  in  the  fundamental  analysis  of  character  are  Hauptmann 
apd  Galsworthy  good  psychologists,  but  in  the  presentation  of  character 
as  well.  Not  merely  do  they  get  at  the  root  of  Frau  John's  maternal  in- 
stinct; Grieselda's  patience;  Forsythe's  idiosyncrasies;  Falder's  weak- 
ness ;  the  Little  Man's  sensitiveness ;  but  by  intuition  seize  upon  the 
proper  means  to  give  the  exact  interpretation.  Their  art  is  seen  in  both 
what  they  include  and  what  they  exclude.  Never  do  they  falsify  by  un- 
duly emphasizing  details.  Nor  do  they  interpret  character  by  extended 
comment  as  in  The  Egoist.  Both  interpret  by  suggestion  rather  than  by 
direct  explanation.  What  a  feat,  for  instance,  it  is  to  portray  in  Henschel 
a  sorrow  without  a  voice  or  More's  mingled  silent  pity,  superiority,  con- 
tempt,^* or  Bosinney's  and  Irene's  terrible  silent  struggles.  Their  sufifer- 
ings  are  too  deep  for  words,  and  these  artists  know  that  in  such  situations 
more  can  be  told  by  silence  than  by  words,  no  matter  how  well  chosen. 


"Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht.  Act  II. 

"'Atlantis:    Gesammelte  Werke,  Vol.  6,  p.  247. 

'^Ibid.,  p.  450. 

'^BahnxiHirter  Thiel,  Chap.  I. 

''The  Freclands,  Chap.  XXXVI. 

*^The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 

"Ibid. 

""The  Mob,  Act  III,  Sc.  I. 


50  Gerliart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

This  reticence  in  certain  situations  is  not  a  sign  of  superficial  treatment  but 
rather  a  mark  of  a  true  psychologist  and  sure  artist.  Nor  should  it  be 
confused  with  mere  stage  silence  or  pantomime.  The  two  features  are 
closely  related  but  not  the  same.  One  is  what  is  done  by  the  characters 
rather  than  said ;  the  other  what  is  neither  done  nor  said  but  suggested 
by  the  character  thru  the  skill  of  the  artist.  A  case  in  point  is  Kate's 
temptation  of  More."^  Very  little  is  said  or  done  but  much  suggested. 
Another  case  is  Arnold's  suffering.  His  real  feelings  are  concealed  be- 
neath an  exterior  of  bravado. 

Some  of  the  best  examples  of  their  power  of  suggestion  are  their  love 
scenes.  These  love  scenes  are  not  Romeo  and  Juliet  like — romantic  and 
eloquent.  Often  their  lovers  talk  not  love  but  commonplaces  or  non- 
sense. Compare  the  spriteliness  of  the  scene  between  Gertrude  and  Max^^ 
with  the  delicacy  of  that  between  Sylvia  and  Lennon  f^  or  the  ingenuous- 
ness of  that  between  Walburga  and  Spitta,®*  with  the  wistfulness  of  that 
between  Lux  and  Kosakiewicz^^  and  the  restraint  of  that  between 
Antonia  and  Shelton.^"^  In  nearly  every  case  Galsworthy  treats 
love  scenes  with  greater  restraint  than  does  Hauptmann.  His  method  is 
often  to  report  the  scene  thru  a  third  person,  or  thru  the  recollection  of 
one  of  the  pincipals.  It  amounts  in  some  cases  to  a  great  effort  to  pre- 
serve "good  form."  The  scenes  between  Mrs.  Bellow  and  George,  Olive 
and  Lennon,  Irene  and  Bosinney,  as  well  as  those  between  Irene  and 
Soames,  and  Olive  and  her  husband,  all  are  restrained  or  only  vaguely 
suggested.  "Nichts  ware  verkehrter  als  Galsworthys  Menschen  gefiihls- 
arm  oder  gar  blutleer  nennen  zu  wollen :  aber  wortarm  smd  sie,  wortarm 

bis  zu  einem  Grade, "^°^    "It  is  astonishing,  when  one  considers  the 

force  and  passion  of  so  much  of  his  work,  to  realize  that  it  is  all  got  from 
surface-workings — not  that  he  ever  suggests  the  shallow  or  superficial 

"^"^    Hauptmann's  treatment  of  love  themes  is  much  bolder.  Rose 

Bcrnd  and  Griselda  are  daring  but  delicate  studies.    Full  of  passion  but 


"Ibid.,  Act  III,  Sc.  II. 

'^College  Crampton,  Act  V. 

''The  Dark  Flozvcr,  Part  I,  Chap.  XIII. 

'Die  Ratten,  Act  IV. 

"DiV  Jungfcrn  vom  Bischofsberg,  Act  V. 

"^The  Island  Pharisees,  Chap.  XXIV. 

"^M.  Meyerfeld :   Das  literarische  Echo,  13J.  1093. 

"'S.  Kaye-Smith  :   John  Galsixforthy. 


Art  51 

restrained  are  the  scenes  between  Helen  and  Loth/"^  Ruth  and  Quint/°* 
Agatha  and  Griinwald/^^  Heinrich  and  Rautendelein.^"*'  The  scenes  be- 
tween Eva  Burns  and  Von  Kammacher  are  restrained  because  their  love 
is  not  so  much  a  love  of  passion  as  of  companionship.  The  scene  between 
Michaline  and  Lachmann  shows  how  a  love  may  smoulder  but  cannot  be 
rekindled.i"^ 

In  dialog  too,  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  suggest  rather  than  directly 
announce.  Hauptmann's  method  is  to  suggest  by  leaving  a  line  of  thought 
incompleted.  The  suggestion  arises  thru  the  conversation's  being  inter- 
rupted and  later  resumed  from  another  angle.  Galsworthy  often  suggests 
by  what  the  characters  refrain  from  saying.  Good  examples  are  Marlow's 
unwillingness  to  answer  Barthwick's  questions  about  the  Unknown 
Lady;^°^  and  Jones'  refusal  to  explain  how  he  got  the  money.^°^  Much  of 
the  suggestion  comes  too,  from  the  wonderful  sensitiveness  with  which 
each  picks  out  the  appropriate  detail  to  convey  the  exact  meaning  or  im- 
pression. Each  movement,  gesture,  facial  expression,  detail  of  dress  or 
apearance  is  carefully  noted  and  has  specific  value.  It  is  no  accident  that 
Melanto  (B.  des  O.)  has  red-brown  hair;  that  Anna  Mahr  is  dressed  in 
black ;  that  Gertrude  wears  a  Rembrandt  hat ;  that  the  Unknown  Lady's 
reticule  is  sky-blue ;  that  an  oleograph  and  a  bayonet  hang  over  the  Hughs' 
bed;""  that  Mr.  Pendyce's  head  is  long  and  narrow;"^  that  Sir  William 
goes  to  Freda  to  get  his  glove  buttoned  ;^^-  that  Frau  Motes  asks  for  bread 
and  eggs  ;"^  that  Pippa's  father  is  an  Italian  expert  glass-blower.  So  also 
is  their  use  of  the  weather  already  noted.  Their  sensitiveness,  too,  ex- 
presses itself  in  the  choice  of  the  specific  word,  which'  a  large  vocabulary 
permits  them  to  do.  This  characteristic  is  so  common  in  their  work  that 
only  a  few  of  the  best  illustrations  can  be  cited.  Olive  (Dark  F.)  has  black 
velvety  eyes;  Anna  (Dark  F.)  has  ice-green  eyes;   Pendyce  has  an  "in- 


^'^Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  Act  IV. 

"^Der  Narr  in  Christo,  Chap.  XVII. 

^"'ZPtV  Jungfern  vont  Bischofsberg,  Act  V. 

'^^Die  versunkene  Glocke,  Act  IV. 

'^'"Michael  Kramer,  Act  III. 

^'^The  Silver  Box,  Act  I,  Sc.  III. 

'Vbid.,  Act  III. 

^''Fraternity,  Chap.  VI. 

'''''The  Countrv  House,  Chap.  IV. 

'■''The  Eldest  Son,  Act  II. 

"^Der  Biberpeh,  Act  I. 


I 


52  Gerhart  Hanptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

clination  to  bottle  shoulders"  ;^^*  the  shepherd  smokes  "eine  Pfeife  aus 
Rinde.""'*  Ruth  casts  a  "honeyed  look";^^''  the  Pfarrer  speaks  of  the 
Tollkraut  of  Heinrich's  sin;^^^  Crampton  objects  to  painting  "in  einem 
Kartoffel-keller."^^®  People  with  "steckenden  und  glaubenskranken 
Augen"  come  to  the  Apostle. ^^^ 

Because  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  present  "slices  of  life"  it  must 
not  be  inferred  that  their  plays  are  formless.  Nor  must  it  be  thought  be- 
cause Hauptmann's  plays  have  a  great  deal  of  atmosphere  that  they  lack 
structure;  or  because  his  acts  are  largely  discussions  that  he  is  guilty  of 
garrulity.  Both  men  have  a  keen  sense  for  dramatic  values  and  an  intui- 
tive knowledge  of  the  theatre. 

In  naturalistic  plays  the  action  usually  takes  place  in  a  comparatively 
short  time.  Therefore  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  in  nearly  all  of  their 
plays  follow  Ibsen  in  seizing  upon  the  culminating  moment.  This  moment 
has  of  course,  a  beginning  and  an  end,  but  in  so  far  as  it  is  the  resultant 
of  previous  moments,  it  is  only  a  link  in  a  chain.  Hence  a  play  has  a  be- 
ginning from  the  immediate  complication  and  an  ending  which  is  often 
inconclusive.  Both  authors  differ  from  Ibsen,  however,  in  that  the  stories 
of  their  plays  do  not  arise  from  the  uncovering  of  the  past.  Hauptmann 
has  a  fondness  for  the  five  act  form.  If  in  this  feature  he  follows  the  old 
drama,  it  is  rather  an  accidental  than  a  wilful  conformity.  Except  for 
Das  Friedensfest  in  three  acts ;  Michael  Kramer,  Der  Biberpeh,  Der  rote 
Hahn,  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  Und  Pip  pa  tanzt!  in  four;  Hannele  in  two; 
Griselda  in  ten  scenes,  and  Blga,  in  six ;  his  plays  are  in  five  acts.  Gals- 
worthy's plays  are  much  shorter.  The  Mob,  The  Fugitive,  and  Justice  are 
in  four  acts,  and  the  Little  Dream  in  six  scenes.  His  other  plays  are  in 
three  acts.  When  we  consider,  however,  that  he  frequently  divides  an 
act  into  two  or  three  scenes,  his  structure  is  merely  a  modified  form  of  a 
four  or  five-act  play.  The  most  broken  acts  in  all  his  plays  are  Act  HI  of 
Justice,  and  Act  II  of  A  Bit  o'  Love,  in  each  of  which  there  are  three 
scenes.  These  are  illustrations  of  the  division  into  scenes  for  the  sake 
of  change  of  place.    Act  I  of  The  Silver  Box,  and  Act  I  of  The  Eldest  Son, 


^"The  Country  House,  Chap.  I. 

^^^Der  Narr  in  Christo,  Chap.  III. 
^"■"Justice,  Act  I,  p.  3. 
^^''Die  versunkene  Glocke,  Act  III. 
^^^College  Crampton,  Act  V. 
'"Der  Apostel,  p.  88. 


Art  53 

are  the  best  examples  of  division  to  indicate  a  lapse  of  time.  All  these 
divisions  are,  however,  organically  related.  In  using  them  he  follows  the 
natural  division  of  his  material.  It  creates  a  freer  form  and  makes  for 
economy  of  time  and  words.  This,  and  his  power  of  selecting  and  arrang- 
ing, explain  the  difference  in  length  between  his  plays  and  Hauptmann's. 

Exposition  in  their  plays  is  not  so  much  of  antecedent  events,  except 
perhaps  in  Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  as  of  character.  And  in  both  authors  this 
exposition  covers  all  or  nearly  all  the  first  act.  The  crisis,  therefore,  is  to 
be  found  at,  or  near  the  end  of  the  first  act.  In  Justice  it  is  Falder's  ar- 
rest ;  in  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  Gersuind's  liberation ;  in  The  Eldest  Son, 
Freda's  declaration ;  in  Die  rote  Hahn,  the  conversation  about  Gustav. 

Suspense  is  due,  not  to  the  action,  but  to  the  characters  and  situation. 
In  The  Mob  and  The  Fugitive,  our  interest  is  held  by  a  desire  to  know  the 
outcome  of  the  protagonist's  struggle.  We  wish  to  know  whether  More 
will  have  the  courage  to  go  on  to  ultimate  martyrdom,  or  will  capitulate 
to  opposition  and  his  emotions.  In  the  case  of  Clare  our  interest  is  in  the 
extent  to  which  she  succeeds  and  fails  in  her  rebellion.  We  half  realize 
from  the  beginning  that  these  characters  are  not  going  to  succeed  and  yet 
the  uncertainty  of  the  nature  of  the  failure  keeps  us  interested.  For  in- 
stance Clare  might  solve  her  dilemma  by  returning  to  her  husband  or  to 
Malise,  by  selling  herself  or  committing  suicide.  That  she  does  the  last  is 
the  inevitable  result  of  her  character,  her  previous  decisions  having  made 
the  other  solutions  impossible.  Similarly  with  Loth.  We  are  anxious  to 
see  how  the  revelation  of  the  family  history  will  react  upon  him.     His 

decision  is  simply  a  reassertion  of  his  fundamental  principle.  Our  in- 
terest in  Crampton  is  in  just  how  he  will  respond  to  the  helping  hands 

extended  to  him.  In  Schluck  und  Jau  the  interest  is  in  the  trick  played  on 
Schluck  and  Jau  and  how  it  affects  them.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  we 
vaguely  guess  the  solution  of  these  situations,  our  interest  is  held  by  the 
analysis  of  character,  the  balance  of  forces  in  the  struggle,  and  the  way  in 
which  the  tension  is  increased  up  to  the  climax. 

The  climax,  or  turning  point,  comes  in  most  of  the  plays  at  approx- 
imately the  middle  of  the  play.  That  is,  if  the  play  is  in  four  acts  the 
climax  comes  usually  at  the  end  of  the  second  act,  if  in  five  acts  at  the  end 
of  the  third,  or  if  in  three  acts  in  the  middle  of  the  second  act.  The  climax 
in  Die  versimkene  Glocke,  is  the  Pf arrer's  threat  to  Heinrich ;   in  Gabriel 


54  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

Schillings  Fliicht,  it  is  Schilling's  collapse;  in  Und  Pippa  tanst!  Hell- 
riegel's  rescue  of  Pippa  from  Huhn.  The  climax  of  Griselda  comes  at  the 
end  of  Scene  VI  in  the  moment  of  agreement  just  before  Ulrich's  de- 
parture. In  Justice,  the  turning  point  is  Falder's  conviction ;  in  The  Eld- 
est Son,  Lady  Cheshire's  discovery  of  Bill's  relations  with  Freda ;  in  The 
Pigeon,  Wellwyn's  failure  to  redeem  the  "rotters." 

At  first  thought  Galsworthy's  plays  seem  to  have  better  structure  than 
Hauptmann's.  The  last  acts  of  Michael  Kramer,  Die  Weber,  and  Die  ver- 
sunkene  Glocke  have  been  singled  out  as  indicative  of  defective  structure. 
Such  criticism  fails  to  consider  Hauptmann's  intention.  The  protagonist 
of  Die  Weber  is  not  Dressiger  but  the  body  of  weavers,  of  Michael  Kram- 
er, not  Arnold  but  Michael.  Technically  the  plays  of  both  men  are  well 
made.  Exception  might  be  made  to  patent  weaknesses  in  Vor  Sonncnauf- 
gang,  or  to  the  conventional  opening  of  The  Fugitive,  but  generally  defects 
are  inconspicuous. 

Like  most  of  the  modern  dramatists  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  have 
accepted  the  principle  of  the  unities.  Einsame  Menschen  and  The  Pigeon 
observe  unity  of  place ;  Strife  and  A  Bii^  o'  Love  observe  unity  of  time ; 
Das  Friedensfest,  Joy  and  The  Eldest  Son  observe  both  unities.  Most  of 
the  plays  are  restricted  as  to  place  and  time.  Die  Ratten  takes  place  in 
different  parts  of  the  same  building ;  Die  Jungfern  vom  Bischofsberg  and 
Vor  Sonnenaufgang  take  place  inside  and  outside  the  same  house  within  a 
limited  time.  The  symbolic  plays  are  more  difficult  to  interpret.  Han- 
nele.  The  Little  Dream  and  Elga,  in  so  far  as  they  are  dream  plays  might 
be  considered  as  observing  both  unities.  Schluck  und  Jau  and  Und  Pippa 
tanst!  might  be  thought  to  observe  that  of  time. 

The  soliloquy  as  a  conventional  dramatic  device  has  long  since  been 
abandoned.  That  people  do  talk  to  themselves  under  certain  circum- 
stances is  however  a  recognized  psychological  fact.  Hence  Hauptmann 
and  Galsworthy  use  the  solioquy,  but  in  a  thoroly  realistic  way.  Usually 
it  takes  the  form  of  an  impersonal  exclamation,  as  in  the  case  of  Well- 
wyn,i-°  Keith,i2i  j^^^jy  Cheshire,^-^  Crampton/-^  prau  Wolff,^24  Hassen- 


^"The  Pigeon,  Act  I,  p.  7. 

''The  Eldest  Son,  Act  I,  Sc.  II,  p.  14. 

"Ibid.,  Act  11,  p.  45. 

^"College  Crampton,  Act  I,  p.  13. 

''*Der  Biberpels,  Act  I,  p.  29. 


^rt  55 

reuter/-^  Strangway.'-"  Less  frequently  it  is  resorted  to  as  an  expression 
of  a  highly  wrought-up  emotional  state,  as  in  the  case  of  Helen,' ^^  Frau 
John,^-®  Ansorge.^'^  In  a  few  cases  it  is  put  in  the  mouth  of  an  intoxi- 
cated man — Krause,'^*^  Jones, '^^  Jack."^  Never,  however,  is  the  soliloquy 
unreal  when  spoken  by  real  people.  Even  when  used  in  the  poetic  Dcr 
versnnkene  Glocke  it  is  made  probable  by  the  character  of  Rautendelein, 
and  the  situation. 

One  of  the  most  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  two  authors  is  their 
ability  to  handle  groups  or  masses  of  men.  A  large  part  of  the  success  of 
Die  IVeher  and  Strife  depends  on  this  ability.  In  other  works  it  forms 
a  notable  but  less  striking  feature.  In  Die  Ratten,  Atlantis,  Der  Narr  in 
Christo,  The  Mob,  are  scenes  showing  a  masterly  handling  of  groups  of 
people.  The  dinner  scene  in  the  opening  of  A  Man  of  Property;  Clara 
Freeland's  meetings ;  the  court  scenes  in  Justice,  The  Silver  Box,  Dcr 
Biherpels,  Der  rote  Hahn;  Acts  II  and  III  of  The  Eldest  Son  are  also 
excellent  examples.  This  ability  shows  itself  in  addition,  in  the  fact  that 
practically  every  play  has  a  large  number  of  dramatis  personcc,  and  that 
these  are  always  well  handled.  The  number  in  general,  ranges  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty.  A  few  plays  have  less :  Der  arme  Heinrich,  seven ;  Das 
Friedensfest,  eight ;  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  nine ;  Joy,  ten ;  Binsame  Men- 
schen  and  Schluck  und  Jau,  eleven;  The  Pigeon,  thirteen;  and  a  few 
plays  have  more :  Der  rote  Hahn,  twenty-five ;  The  Little  Dream,  twenty- 
seven;  Hannele,  about  thirty;  Strife,  thirty-one;  Die  Weber,  forty; 
Florian  Geyer,  seventy-eight. 

The  handling  of  groups  of  characters  is  one  of  the  best  tests  of  a  dram- 
atist's technique  and  his  knowledge  of  the  theatre.  That  these  authors 
stand  the  test  is  a  proof  of  their  knowledge  of  stage-craft.  They  demon- 
strate it  not  merely  in  the  movement  of  the  characters  upon  the  stage  in 
what  is  called  business,  but  in  the  manipulation  of  the  conversation.  Mul- 
tiple conversation  is  not  general,  but  what  examples  there  are  show  the 
touch  of  masters'  hands.    A  few  examples  are :   the  end  of  Act  I  of  Vor 


""Die  Ratten,  Act  III. 

'"A  Bit  o'  Love,  Act  III,  So.  I,  p.  63. 

"'Vor  Sonnciiaufgang,  Act  I,  end,  and  Act  V,  end. 

'^Die  Ratten,  Act  IV,  end. 

''Die  IVeber,  Act  IV,  end. 

^Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  Act  II,  beginning. 

^'^The  Silver  Box,  Act  I,  beginning. 


56  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

Sonnenaufgang,  Act  III  of.  The  Eldest  Son,  Act  II  of  Das  Friedensfest, 
the  end  of  Act  V  of  Die  Jungfern  vom  Bischofsberg,  Act  III  of  Der  rote 
Hahn,  in  each  of  which  five  or  six  persons  converse.  Conversations  be- 
tween three  or  four  are  somewhat  common.  In  the  vast  majority  of  cases, 
tho,  the  conversations  are  carried  on  between  two  or  three  characters,  and 
this  too,  even  when  several  others  are  present  on  the  stage.  But  this  is 
natural,  since,  very  seldom  in  actual  life  dq  more  than  two  or  three  con- 
verse, even  in  a  group  of  people.  Of  course,  that  does  not  mean  that  the 
two  or  three  speakers  never  change.  They  do  not  tho,  break  in  upon  each 
other's  speeches,  as  do  Granville  Barker's  characters.  The  conversation 
is  not  alternate  but  consecutive.  An  interesting  exception  is  found  in  Act 
IV  of  Der  Biherpeh,  in  which  four  people  talk  simultaneously. 

The  manipulation  of  conversation  can  not  be  isolated  from  action,  busi- 
ness, character  and  dialog,  except  for  the  purpose  of  analysis.  Naturalistic 
technique,  as  used  by  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy,  so  closely  knits  these 
elements  together  that  every  detail,  sound  or  movement  tells  its  part  of 
the  story.  Sometimes  it  is  the  suggested  rather  than  the  actual  sound  or 
movement  that  tells  the  story.  In  Die  Weber  there  is  little  real  action,  yet 
a  great  deal  of  suggested  action.  Act  III,  Scene  III  of  Justice  is  wordless 
but  very  eloquent.  In  Act  II,  Scene  II  of  Strife,  as  in  other  scenes  in 
which  numbers  of  people  appear  there  is  not  so  much  actual  as  suggested 
stage  business.  This  is  because  these  men  make  pantomime  as  eloquent  as 
words,  and  immobility  as  full  of  meaning  as  movement. 

Stage  business  both  as  an  accompaniment  to  the  words  and  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  words  is  so  abundantly  used  by  both  authors  as  to  make  com- 
ment or  illustration  superfluous.  Elaborate  stage  business  amounting  to 
a  kind  of  pantomime  is  used,  as  already  noted,  in  Justice,  and,  in  Das 
Friedensfest,  Act  II,  and  Und  Pippa  tanzt!  Act  III,  in  which  the  dumb 
servant  Jonathan  figures.  Each  author  has  a  keen  sense  of  situation. 
The  situations  are  pregnant  with  dramatic  possibilities,  but  never  theatri- 
cal.   Almost  any  play  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  point. 

One  of  the  features  for  which  both  authors  are  celebrated  is  their  rich, 
natural  dialog.  Among  contemporaries,  each  is  unequalled  in  the  writing 
of  dramatic  dialog — for  each  has  learned  well  the  lesson  taught  by  Ibsen. 
Both  are  most  scrupulously  selective  in  the  creation  of  dialog,  yet  they 
never  give  it  a  "superior  articulateness,"  which  destroys  the  illusion  of 


Art  57 

complete  reality.  The  speech  is  always  suited  to  the  speaker,  or  con- 
versely, the  dialog  helps  to  create  the  character.  Character  and  dialog 
are  inseparable,  or  as  Galsworthy  puts  it,  "Good  dialog  is  character." 
If  it's  an  Ulrich  who  speaks,  the  dialog  is  easy  and  polished ;  if  it's  a  Frau 
Wolff,  it  is  racy  and  ungrammatical ;  if  it's  a  Ferrand,  it  is  suave  and  dis- 
jointed ;  if  it's  a  Mrs.  Jones,  it  is  monosyllabic  and  unvaried.  Characters 
are  differentiated  not  merely  by  what  is  said  but  by  the  form  and  tone  in 
which  it  is  said.  Nast  is  characterized  not  only  by  what  he  says  in  defense 
of  the  school  system,  but  in  the  boastful  and  arrogant  tone  in  which  he 
says  it ;  Frau  Spiller  ( Vor  S.)  by  the  — m —  of  her  breathing,  which  forms 
an  audible  accompaniment  to  her  words,  as  well  as  by  the  words  them- 
selves. Malise  and  Col.  Hope  (Joy)  are  distinguished  not  only  by  what 
they  say,  but  by  Malise's  rhetorical  and  Hope's  choleric  way  of  saying  it. 
A  few  more  examples  must  suffice.  The  child's  vocabulary  is  revealed 
in  Little  Olive's  remark :  "I  never  can  go  to  sleep  if  I  try — it's  quite 
helpless,  you  know."^^-  The  figurative  language  of  the  illiterate  Rauch- 
haupt  is  shown  in  his  speech  to  Frau  Schulze :  "Wo  dir  man  eens  eener 
uff't  Handwerk  paszt,  mit  Kinderkens  pflegen  und  so  'ne  Sachen,  det  de 
Engel  in  Himmel  nich  alle  wer'n !    denn  mechten  woll  so  'ne  Curessen 

rauskomm' det  du  horen  und   sehen   verjiszt."^^*     The  primitive 

courage  of  the  old  crossing  sweeper  is  revealed  in  his  prayer  for  strength : 
"Oh  Lord  God,  that  took  the  dog  from  me,  and  gave  me  this  here  rheu- 
matics, help  me  to  keep  a  stiff  and  contrite  heart So  God  give  me 

a  stiff  heart,  and  I  will  remember  you  in  my  prayers,  for  that's  all  I  can 
do  now,  O  God.  I  have  been  a  good  one  in  my  time,  O  Lord,  and  cannot 
remember  doing  harm  to  any  man  for  a  long  while  now,  and  I  have  tried 
to  keep  upsides  of  it ;  so,  good  Lord,  remember  and  do  not  forget  me,  now 
that  I  am  down  a-lying  here  all  day,  and  the  rent  goin'  on.  For  ever  and 
ever,  O  Lord,  Amen."^^*  That  Hauptmann's  and  Galsworthy's  dialog  is 
full  of  feeling  and  force  hardly  needs  proof. 

One  reason  for  the  vividness  and  naturalness  of  Hauptmann's  dialog 
is  his  use  of  dialect.  Born  in  a  country  rich  in  dialects,  and  having  had 
from  birth  an  intimate  knowledge  of  Silesian,  it  is  natural  that  he  should 
enrich  his  plays  by  dialectically  differentiating  his  characters.    And  this  is 


'The  Mob.  Act  III,  Sc.  II,  p.  49- 
^Dcr  rote  Hahn,  Act  III,  p.  lOO. 
*"The  Choice"  in  A  Motley. 


58  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

done  with  "phonetic  accuracy In    Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  Hoffman, 

Loth,  Dr.  Schimmelpfennig  and  Helen  speak  normal  High  German ;  all 
the  other  characters  speak  Silesian  except  the  imported  footman,  Edward, 
who  uses  the  Berlin  dialect.  In  Der  Biherpelz,  the  various  gradations  of 
that  dialect  are  scrupulously  set  down,  from  the  impudent  vulgarity  of 
Leontine  and  Adelaide  to  the  occasional  consontal  slips  of  Wehrhahn."^^^ 
Galsworthy  born  in  a  country  poor  in  dialects,  and  treating  a  class  of 
society  that  does  not  use  dialect,  has  naturally  produced  little.  Yet  his 
Devon  Sage^^**  and  the  rustics  in  A  Bit  o'  Love  use  a  provincial  English 
that  is  rendered,  too,  with  phonetic  accuracy,  Ruth  (Justice)  speaks  with 
a  West-Country  accent.  Thomas  (Strife)  too,  cannot  deny  his  Welsh 
extraction, 

A  characteristic  which  has  attracted  attention,  particularly  in  Haupt- 
mann, is  the  employment  of  long  speeches.  If,  however,  these  speeches 
are  examined  carefully,  nearly  all  of  them  will  be  found  very  dramatic. 
The  last  part  of  Act  IV  of  Michael  Kramer  for  instance,  is  almost  a  mono- 
log  by  Kramer,  and  yet  it  is  in  character,  and  highly  dramatic.  Then  there 
is  the  very  long  but  very  dramatic  speech  of  Roberts  in  Strife,  Act  II, 
Most  of  the  speeches  have  a  dramatic  motive.  Spitta's  to  Walburga  is  a 
complaint  against  his  father's  injustice  ;^^^  Hoffmann's  to  Loth  is  to  win 
Loth  over.^^^  Wehrhahn's  harangue  is  dramatic  because  delivered  in 
court.  So  also  are  the  lawyers'  speeches  in  the  second  act  of  Justice. 
Some  speeches  are  long  because  in  character.  Crampton's  speeches  are 
nearly  all  long.  He  is  loquacious  and  dictatorial.  Hassenreuter  is  pom- 
pous and  rhetorical.  Mrs.  Miler,  Hke  so  many  of  her  class  suffers  from 
talkativeness  of  one  unburdened  with  self-consciousness  and  refinement. 
Repetitions  and  uncouth  expressions  may  also  account  for  the  length  of 
some  of  Hauptmann's  speeches.  Then  too,  German  as  a  language  carries 
much  more  "ballast"  than  does  English.  On  the  other  hand,  one  has  only 
to  turn  to  Acts  II  and  III  of  Binsame  Menschen,  Act  IV  of  Vor  Sonnen- 
aufgang and  almost  any  play  of  Galsworthy's  to  find  dialog  in  short,  pithy 
speeches. 

Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  have  been  called  novelists  writing  for  the 


%.  Lewisohn :   Introduction  to  Dramatic  Works  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann. 
^'Moods,  Songs,  and  Doggerels. 
'Die  Ratten,  Act  IV,  p.  153. 
'^Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  Act  III. 


Art  59 

theatre.  Such  a  statement  need  not  be  refuted.  Yet  Hauptmann  says : 
"1st  doch  das  Dramatische  und  das  Epische  niemals  reingetrennt,  ebenso- 
wenig  wie  die  Tendenzen  der  Zeit  und  des  Ortes."^^^  And  that  narrative 
enters  into  his  plays  is  not  to  be  denied.  One  has  only  to  read  his  stage 
directions  to  ascertain  the  fact.  And,  of  course,  the  same  must  be  said  of 
Galsworthy.  Citation  of  a  few  of  the  most  epical  stage  directions  must 
suffice  here. 

"Dr.  Scholz  (macht  eine  Gebarde,  die  etwa  ausdriickt :  ich  will  nichts 
verreden,  ich  kann  mich  vielleicht  tauchen yuo 

"Moved  by  that  look,  which  is  exactly  as  if  she  had  said :  'I  have  no 
friends,'  he  hurried  on."^*^ 

"Ein  Zug  des  Nachdenkens,  gleichsam  iiber  ein  Problem,  dessen  Losung 
ebenso  aussichtslos  als  unbedingt  notwendig  ist,  befallt  sie  immer,  sofern 
nicht  auszere  Eindrucke  sie  ablenken."^*- 

" the  brown  eyes  are  lost,  and  seem  always  to  be  asking  some- 
thing to  which  there  is  no  answer."^*" 

Perhaps  this  is  not  a  fair  test,  since  the  cases  cited  are  exceptional 
rather  than  general.  Some  of  these  stage  directions  are,  of  course,  writ- 
ten for  the  reader,  but  nine  out  of  ten  are  written  to  make  every  detail 
specific,  so  that  the  characters  may  be,  in  an  actual  production,  as  far  as 
possible  identical  with  those  characters  as  conceived  in  the  authors'  minds. 
Hence  they  are  objective,  and  not  subjective  like  Shaw's.  They  specify 
not  conventional  gestures  but  movements  intimately  related  to  the  inner 
life  of  the  character,  to  the  moral  or  spiritual  nature,  or  the  psychological 
condition.  But  Galsworthy's  are  briefer  and  more  general  than  Haupt- 
mann's. 

Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  do  not  play  chorus,  unless  Miss  Beech 
(Joy)  is  honored  with  that  title.  Each  is  too  great  an  artist  to  obtrude 
upon  his  audience.  Neither  do  they,  like  Shaw,  talk  thru  the  dialog.  They 
let  the  stories  tell  themselves  thru  the  characters  or  situations.  Haupt- 
mann generally  uses  the  former  method,  Galsworthy  the  latter.  Tho 
both  are  concerned  primarily  with  the  being  and  fate  of  humanity  rather 


"Griechischcr  Prnhling,  p.  222. 

"Das  Fricdcnsfest,  Act  II,  p.  52. 

^The  Fugitive,  Act  II,  p.  36. 

^Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  Act  II,  p.  47. 

M  Bit  0'  Love,  Act  I,  p.  n. 


6o  Ccrhart  Haupimann  and  John  Galsworthy 

than  with  problems  of  art,  economics,  or  ethics ;  tho  they  do  not  attempt 
definitely  to  prove  anything,  we  know  where  their  sympathies  lie.  Each 
uses  parallelism,  contrast  and  balance  in  order  that  the  plays  may  be 
wholly  objective.  Galsworthy  particularly,  scrupulously  balances  the 
forces  against  each  other  so  that  he  may  not  seem  to  be  pleading  a  case. 
Only  occasionally  does  the  moralist  speak  at  the  expense  of  the  artist. 
Their  characters  discuss  problems  a  little  too  freely,  but  then  we  cannot 
accuse  the  authors  of  speaking  thru  the  character's  mouths,  since  the  re- 
marks are  usually  in  character.  Only  in  his  early  work  Vor  Sonnenanf- 
gang  and  perhaps  Das  Fricdensfest,  does  Hauptmann  sacrifice  the  play  to 
the  Tendenz;  and  only  in  his  decorative  symbols  or  remarks  does  Gals- 
worthy force  his  didacticism,  as  for  example,  in  the  choice  of  "Caste"  for 
the  play  rehearsed  in  The  Eldest  Son;  or  the  song  "This  day  a  stag  must 
die,"  in  The  Fugitive;'^**  or  in  the  use  of  the  symbol  the  hawk  and  rabbit, 
in  The  Dark  Flower;  or  of  Jack's  remark  to  his  father :  "Dad,  that's  what 
you  said  to  me."^^'^  This  reinforcement  of  an  objective  story  is  too 
adroitly  managed  to  seem  unconscious.  Another  device  that  makes  us  un- 
pleasantly aware  of  his  purpose  is  the  choice  of  names — like  Freelands. 
Interesting  sidelights  are  thrown  too,  by  a  comparison  of  the  way  in  which 
the  two  men  treat  the  same  ideas.  Compare  the  brief,  suggestive  retort 
of  Laclimann  to  his  wife:  "Mein  Mann:  Ich  bin  nicht  Dein  Mann.  Der 
Ausdruck  macht  mich  immer  nervos,"'*®  with  Galsworthy's  elaborate 
treatment  of  the  same  idea  in  The  Man  of  Property.  On  the  other  hand 
compare  Roberts'  attitude  on  the  question  of  the  poor  having  children'*^ 
with  Loth's  preachment  on  heredity. 

"Tragodie  und  Komodie  haben  das  gleiche  StoflFgebiet,"^**  says  Haupt- 
mann. And  he  has  himself  in  Die  Ratten  come  nearest  to  making  the 
same  subject  matter  both  tragic  and  comic.  Here,  as  in  real  life,  side  by 
side,  yet  inextricably  interwoven  are  a  comedy  and  a  tragedy.  Indeed  we 
approach  in  this  play  close  to  the  "hysterical  point" — the  point  at  which 
we  can  laugh  and  cry  at  the  same  event.  Modern  drama  with  its  incon- 
clusive ending  has  produced  a  hybrid  form  which  is  neither  comedy  or 


"The  Fugitive,  Act  IV. 
*The  Silver  Box,  Act  III. 
"Michael  Kramer,  Act  I,  p.  21. 
"Strife,  Act  II,  Sc.  II. 
*Griechischer  Priihling,  p.  91, 


Art  6i 

tragedy.  Thus  Hauptmann  has  written  a  comedy  (rote  H.)  which  ends 
in  the  protagonist's  death  and  Galsworthy  has  written  a  comedy  (Sil.  B.) 
which  ends  in  a  man's  going  to  jail.  Yet  Hauptmann's  comedy  ending  in 
death  is  comic,  while  Galsworthy's  comedy  ending  in  a  jail  sentence  is 
tragic.    Not  the  ending  but  the  pervading  spirit  is  the  determining  feature. 

In  modern  drama  comedy  must  be  an  outgrowth  of  character  and  situa- 
tion, and  not  an  extraneous  element  stuck  on  for  comic  relief.  Even  in 
comedy  itself  no  inorganic  elements  are  permitted — no  epigram,  jokes  or 
horseplay.  Consequently  in  Hauptmann  and  Galsworthy  comedy  arises 
generally  from  peculiarities  of  characters.  Scantlebury  (Strife)  ;  the  vil- 
lagers in  A  Bit  o'  Love;  Nast,  Otto  and  Klemt  (Jung.  V.  B.)  are  good 
examples  of  somewhat  incidental  yet  organic  comedy.  Mrs.  Miler's  inten- 
tion to  spill  water  on  the  man  at  the  door  is  a  side  light  on  her  character. 
The  naturalistic  scenes  in  Hannele,  were  they  not  so  terrible  might  be 
comic.  Some  of  the  comedy  arises  from  situation  as  well  as  from  char- 
acter :  the  trick  of  suspending  a  basket  of  bread  over  Arnold's  seat  in  the 
inn ;  the  colloquy  about  prison  between  Frances  Freeland  and  Tryst's 
children. ^*^  The  most  comic  of  Galsworthy's  works  is  The  Pigeon.  It  is 
conceived  in  a  humorous  spirit,  and  the  ending  is  a  master  stroke.  The 
kindly  Pigeon  plucked  by  all  avenges  himself  upon  the  moving-men,  by 
leaving  them  the  contents  of  a  decanter.  This  turns  out  to  be  tea.  Yet 
with  all  its  humor  there  is  a  pervading  element  of  tragedy  that  cannot  be 
escaped.  It  is  the  tragedy  that  produces  a  grim  smile.  So  too,  with 
Schluck  und  Jan.  This  is  a  masque  conceived  in  a  spirit  of  comedy, 
but  it  is  permeated  with  a  biting  irony.  Crampton,  while  a  comic  figure, 
is  still  somewhat  tragic.  Of  pure  humor  there  is  practically  none  in  either 
author,  unless  certain  few  clever  remarks  made  by  characters  are  so  under- 
stood. And  of  whole-hearted  fun  there  is  little  in  Hauptmann  and  less  in 
Galsworthy. 

Contrast  is  one  of  the  most  distinctive  features  of  the  work  of  both 
authors.  They  use  moral  contrast,  but  it  is  social  contrast  in  which  they 
are  most  interested  and  successful.  Galsworthy's  social  contrast  is  often 
of  class  against  class.  Hauptmann's  of  individuals  against  individuals. 
Both  use  contrast  tho,  in  other  ways.  In  Schluck  und  Jau,  Fraternity, 
there  is  contrast  of  rich  and  poor ;  in  Vor  Sonnenaufgang  and  The  Free- 


*The  Freelands,  Chap.  XXXI, 


62  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsivorthy 

lands  of  land-owner  and  laborer;  in  Die  Ratten,  of  the  old  way  of  act- 
ing with  the  new  ;  in  Der  arnie  Heinrich,  of  two  attitudes  toward  religion. 
Der  Narr  in  Christo  and  A  Bit  o  Love  contrast  the  true  Christian  religion 
of  spirit  with  the  practical  religion  of  form.  "The  Neighbors"^^°  con- 
trasts a  Teutonic  and  a  Celtic  family  living  side  by  side.  Profesor  Stone's 
book,  and  himself  are  examples  of  fraternity  in  theory  and  in  practice. 

Hauptmann  likes  to  put  a  man  between  two  very  different  types  of 
women.  The  commonplace  wife  Kathe  is  placed  beside  the  superior  Anna 
Mahr ;  the  garrulous  Frau  Lachmann  beside  the  masculine  Michaline ; 
the  invalid  Frau  Flamm  beside  the  buxom  Rose ;  the  sensual  Melanto 
beside  the  chaste  Leukone.  Galsworthy  does  the  same  with  Bianca 
(Frat)  and  the  model,  and  Sylvia  and  Nell  (Dark  F.).  Usually  he  puts  a 
woman  between  two  very  different  men.  The  artists  Bosinney,  Malise, 
Lennon  are  contrasted  with  the  practical  Soames,  Dedmond  and  Cramier. 
Family  studies  also  serve  to  emphasize  contrast. 

Both  authors  make  much  of  the  contrast  that  arises  from  situation. 
Beside  Frau  John,  who  is  madly  desirous  of  a  child,  is  placed  Pauline,  who 
is  desperate  because  she  is  with  child.  Over  against  Heinrich's  children 
and  Luise's  dead  children  are  placed  Dreissiger's ;  over  against  the  child- 
less Mrs.  Roberts,  the  happy  mother  Enid.  Jones'  and  Jack  Barthwick's 
crimes  are  placed  side  by  side.  In  order  to  bring  out  moral  contrast  both 
authors  adopt  the  use  of  parallel  situations.  Sir  William  commands  his 
dependent  to  marry  a  wronged  girl  but  refuses  to  allow  his  son  to  make 
like  amends  to  his  wife's  maid.  Mrs.  Krause  would  discharge  Marie  for 
an  immoral  act  of  which  she  herself  is  afterward  proved  guilty. 

Closely  related  to  contrast  is  the  element  irony.  Both  authors  use  it 
very  effectively.  In  Hauptmann  it  lurks  beneath  the  surface,  and  gives 
the  impression  of  being  unintentional.  In  Galsworthy  it  is  rather  evident 
and  is  used  with  mordant  effect.  As  Skemp  points  out  the  ironies  of  life 
"sting  his  intellect"  and  thereby  "save  him  from  his  emotions."  Perhaps 
the  most  striking  example  of  his  irony  is  the  recovery  of  Mrs.  Megan 
(Pigeon)  from  attempted  suicide.  Another  is  the  case  of  the  minister 
who  is  a  lover  of  animals  but  a  scourger  of  men.^"'^  Somewhat  bitter  is 
"My  Distant  Relative. "^^-    This  gentleman,  tho  unfit  for  anything,  objects 


"M  Motley. 

"'"A  Fisher  of  Men"  in  A.  Motley. 

^^'The  Inn  of  Tranquillity. 


Art  63 

to  mollycoddling,  and  thinks  competition  the  only  thing.  Somewhat  hu- 
morous is  MacCreedy's  remark  that  when  he  smothered  his  wife  "she 

struggled  very  little she  was  aye  an  obedient  woman. "^^^     More 

genial  is  the  remark  that  the  dog  Miranda  found  the  perfect  dog  in  a  toy 
dog  on  wheels. ^^*  Perhaps  the  most  ironic  situation  in  Hauptmann  is  the 
sinking  of  the  Roland  (Atlantis)  and  the  fate  of  the  passengers.  The 
brave  captain  went  down  while  the  parasites,  Stoss  and  Frau  Leibling  were 
saved.  Almost  as  cruel  is  the  irony  of  Schilling's  fate.  Following  a  re- 
mark that  a  man  must  free  his  soul,  he  discovers  the  sunshade  of  his  tor- 
mentor.^^^  Later,  just  when  Lucy  has  lied  to  Frau  Schilling  about  the 
occupants  of  the  next  room,  Hannah  Elias  comes  out.^'^"  The  mocking 
irony  of  Schluck  imd  Jau  has  already  been  adverted  to.  Superb  is  the 
irony,  when  Dreissiger  announces  that  many  of  the  weavers  are  willing  to 
wear  their  soles  (it  should  have  been  souls)  out  in  order  to  get  work ;  and 
later  when  he  thinks  half-starved  children  should  not  be  allowed  to  carry 
heavy  bundles. ^^^  More  subtle  is  the  irony  of  Frau  Spiller's  after-dinner 
prayer  ;^^^  or  of  Frau  Fielitz's  death  without  remorse,  in  spite  of  the  retri- 
bution Wehrhahn  had  promised  to  sinners ;  or  of  the  compromise  at  the 
end  of  Strife. 

Altho  Hauptmann  has  written  poetic  dramas  and  an  epic,  he  has  writ- 
ten comparatively  few  lyrics.  Galsworthy  has  written  a  slender  volume 
entitled.  Moods,  Songs,  and  Doggerels.  The  explanation  of  this  small  out- 
put of  lyrics  in  a  great  quantity  of  work,  is  to  be  found  in  the  following 
quotation :  "Hauptmann  seems  to  be  denied  the  gift  of  purely  lyrical  ex- 
pression. His  poems,  as  far  as  we  know  them,  fail  to  carry  us  away  by 
an  impression  of  spontaneity  and  impetuosity.  They  are  too  full  of  intel- 
lectual reflection. "^^^  The  applicability  of  this  to  Galsworthy  is  evident. 
Yet  Hauptmann  "certainly  has  the  gift  of  creating  a  uniform  and  har- 
monious atmosphere  which,  after  all,  is  perhaps  the  highest  perfection  of 
a  lyrical  poem.  He  is  so  strongly  gifted  in  this  direction  that  it  some- 
times even  endangers  the  realistic  development  of  his  dramatic  plot.""^ 


'""A  Miller  of  Dee"  in  A  Motley. 

^"^Fraternity,  Chap.  XVIII. 

^"^Gabrid  Schillings  Flucht,  Act  II. 

"7&id.,  Act  IV. 

"^Die  Weher,  Act  I. 

^^Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  Act  I. 

"'Karl  Holl :    Gerhart  Hauptmann. 

5 


64  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

One  has  only  to  test  this  by  Gabriel  Schillings  Fliicht,  Die  Jung  fern  vom 
Bischofsberg  or  Das  Friedensfest.  Galsworthy  does  not  have  the  power 
of  creating  atmosphere,  in  anything  like  this  degree.  Yet  his  sketches  and 
novels  particularly,  disclose  a  highly  developed  lyrical  love  of  nature. 
When  one  thinks  of  Griechischer  Friihling,  The  Freelands,  and  Gals- 
worthy's numerous  sketches,  one  is  inclined  to  claim  that  Hauptmann  and 
Galsworthy  are  more  lyrical  in  prose  than  in  verse. 


IV. 

The  Parallel  Plays. 
Die  Weber  and  Strife. 

Now,  having  examined  in  this  sketchy  way  the  general  characteristics 
of  the  two  men,  let  us  turn  to  the  parallel  plays  for  a  comparison  of  the 
details  that  are  found  in  these  plays  only.  The  parallel  most  often  noted 
is  that  of  Die  Weber  and  Strife.  Each  deals  with  a  struggle  between  capi- 
tal and  labor.  The  former  treats  of  the  revolt  of  the  Silesian  weavers  in 
1844;  the  latter  a  strike  of  tin-plate  workmen  on  the  borderland  of  Wales 
in  the  present  day.  The  former  shows  how  starvation  gradually  forces 
the  peasants  into  blind  revolt;  the  latter  the  havoc  wrought  by  a  strike 
prolonged  by  uncompromising  leaders  on  both  sides,  and  the  interference 
of  the  labor  union. 

In  characteristic  fashion  Hauptmann  approaches  the  problem  from  the 
side  of  the  weavers,  and  Galsworthy  from  the  side  of  the  employers.  Yet 
each  is  very  impersonal  in  the  presentation  of  the  case,  tho  sympathizing 
with  the  men.  This  is  because  each  balances  the  forces  and  gives  scenes 
from  the  life  of  the  employers  as  well  as  from  that  of  the  men.  Act  I  of 
Die  Weber  is  laid  in  Dreissiger's  store-room.  Act  IV  in  his  drawing-room. 
Act  I  of  Strife  is  laid  in  the  manager's  dining  room,  being  temporarily  used 
for  a  board  meeting,  and  Act  III  in  his  drawing-room.  Ajgts  II|f  and  V  of 
Die  Weber  are  laid  in  the  weavers'  homes ;  Act  Il^^^ene  I,  of  Strife  in 
the  home  of  Roberts,  the  strike  leader.  Act  lllfDi£W^ber,  is  laid  in  the 
inn  about  which  the  men  congregate  before  attacking  Dreissiger's ;  Act  II, 
Scene  II,  of  Strife,  before  the  works  where  the  men  meet  to  deliberate  if 
they  will  accept  the  terms  offered.. 

Die  Weber  is  simple.  Strife  complex.  This  is  due  partly  because  the 
situation  in  Die  Weber  is  clear  cut,  that  in  Strife  complicated  by  the  inter- 
ference of  the  labor  union ;  partly  because  the  sufferings  of  the  people,  in 
Die  Weber,  are  given  in  detail,  directly  and  at  some  length,  those  in  Strife 
generalized,  made  indirect,  and  conveyed  thru  a  typical  case ;  and  partly 
because  the  characters  in  Die  Weber,  being  lower  class  and  uneducated, 


66  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

are  presented  emotionally,  those  in  Strife  being  of  a  higher  class  and  better 
educated,  are  presented  intellectually.  This  last  remark  is  perhaps  made 
clearer  by  the  statement  that  the  weavers  strike  for  bread,  but  the  tin- 
plate  workmen  strike  on  principle. 

The  characters  in  the  two  plays  correspond  pretty  closely.  To  the 
employer  Driessiger  corresponds  the  Board  chairman,  Anthony.  The 
former  is  petty  and  selfish,  the  latter,  obstinate  and  hard.  To  the  manager 
Pfeiffer  corresponds  the  manager  Underwood.  The  leaders  Backer  and 
Jager  are  united  in  the  leader  Roberts,  and  Backer's  insolence  to  Dreis- 
siger  in  Act  I,  and  Jager's  in  Act  IV  are  parelleled  by  Roberts'  defiance 
of  Anthony  and  the  directors  in  Act  I.  To  Old  Hilse  corresponds  Henry 
Thomas.  Both  are  religious  in  a  rather  narrow  sense.  Both  protest 
against  the  strike,  the  one  against  the  unlawful  conduct  of  the  strikers, 
the  other  against  continuing  the  strike  in  the  face  of  almost  certain  defeat. 
One  protests  quietly  to  his  own  family,  the  other  actively  to  a  crowd  of 
workmen.  Hilse  has  a  daughter-in-law  Luise,  who  has  sufifered  patiently 
for  years.  Now,  stirred  by  the  action  of  the  strikers,  she  passionately 
reviles  her  husband  and  Old  Hilse  for  what  she  calls  cowardice.  Thomas 
has  a  daughter,  Madge,  who  is  fiery  and  sharp-tongued.  Just  before  the 
meeting  of  the  men  to  consider  the  terms  she  spurns  her  fiance  because  of 
his  support  of  Roberts  and  thereby  turns  him  against  him.  Dreissiger's 
wife  and  children  and  the  children's  tutor  correspond  to  Enid,  her  children 
and  her  father's  valet. 

The  contrast  between  the  luxury  of  the  employers  and  the  poverty  of 
the  men,  is  best  brought-  out  by  the  way  in  which  the  children  figure  in  the 
plays.  The  Heinrich's  have  a  large  family.  One  of  the  children  faints 
in  Dreissiger's  from  sheer  exhaustion.  Baumert's  grandson  is  a  poor 
wretch  without  a  father.  Luise  has  lost  four  children  thru  poverty.  On 
the  other  hand  Dreissiger's  children  are  raised  in  luxury  and  have  a 
private  tutor.  In  Strife  this  terrible  situation  is  forced  home  not  by  the 
number  of  cases  given  but  by  the  juxtaposition  of  the  elements.  First 
there  is  Mrs.  Roberts,  who  is  childless  because  Roberts  thought  it  a  crime 
to  have  children  under  such  conditions.  Then  is  introduced  in  the  bare 
little  room  in  which  the  invalid  Mrs.  Roberts  lives,  the  spiritless  little  Jan 
with  his  whistle.  The  monotony  of  its  sound  in  those  surroundings  pro- 
duces an  atmosphere  of  desolation  the  effect  of  which  can  be  likened  to 


The  Parallel  Plays  67 

nothing  else  than  a  sensation  of  sickness  at  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  And 
into  this  scene  comes  Enid,  a  happy  mother  having  every  comfort.  Her 
intention  is  of  the  best,  but  her  activity  only  aggravates  the  tension  be- 
tween the  employees  and  the  company.  She  and  her  brother  Edgar,  real- 
ize in  a  way,  the  sufferings  of  the  people  and  try  to  win  over  their  obstinate 
father.  At  the  same  time  friction  arises  among  the  directors.  Similarly 
Weinhold's  attitude  toward  the  weavers  causes  Dreissiger  to  discharge 
him  as  tutor  to  his  children.  Edgar  and  Weinhold  are  the  only  characters 
that  really  understand  and  see  the  injustice  of  the  situations. 

One  of  the  excuses  offered  by  the  employer  in  each  play  is  that  "if  the 
men  didn't  spend  such  a  lot  in  drink  and  betting  they'd  be  quite  well  off." 

To  this  is  retorted:    " they  must  have  some  pleasure."^®**    In  each 

case  "the  expenses  are  very  heavy."  Underwood  thinks  the  men  not  un- 
derpaid, Dreissiger  thinks  them  lucky  that  they  have  any  work  at  all. 
The  employers  in  each  case  think  they  will  be  misjudged  for  the  suffering 
of  the  people.  The  fainting  of  the  boy  at  Dreissiger's  and  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Roberts  call  forth  the  remark  that  the  newspapers  will  probably 
distort  the  truth  with  harrowing  details  and  put  the  blame  on  them.  In 
each  case  the  attitude  is  assumed  that  any  assertion  of  rights  must  be  dis- 
couraged on  principle.  Dreissiger  is  afraid  the  disaffection  will  spread  to 
other  factories ;  Anthony  would  curb  the  men  in  defense  of  Capital. 

The  self-righteousness  of  Dreissiger  is  balanced  by  the  studied  hard- 
ness of  Anthony.  Dreissiger  feels  himself  very  virtuous  when  he  refuses 
longer  to  permit  half-starved  children  to  work  for  him,  and  very  philan- 
thropic when  he  would  employ  two  hundred  more  weavers.  The  irony  of 
these  statements  is  superb.  And  when  the  weavers  attack  his  place,  he 
uses  the  time-serving  minister,  Kittlehaus,  as  a  pawn  to  stave  off  the  at- 
tack. Anthony  calls  the  new  generation  a  soft  breed.  He  does  not  pity 
the  sufferings  of  the  people.  To  do  so  would  encourage  mob  rule,  a  thing 
he  cannot  se'e,  and  what  he  cannot  see  he  fears.  He  feels  no  responsibility 
if  his  adversary  suffers  in  a  fair  fight.  Somewhat  similarly,  Kittlehaus 
tells  Weinhold  when  he  notes  the  injustice  suffered  by  the  weavers,  "bleib 
bei  Deinem  Leisten." 

Structurally  the  plays  are  different.  Die  Weber  has  rather  loose  struc- 
ture. Strife,  compact.     In  Die  Weher,  entanglement  and  disentanglement 


'Strife,  Act  II,  Sc.  I,  p.  206. 


68  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

are  about  equal ;  in  Strife,  entanglement  aJready  existing,  is  continued  by 
the  refusal  of  terms  by  both  sides.  Not  until  after  Mrs.  Roberts'  death  is 
there  any  disentanglement.  In  both  plays  there  is  more  action  than  is  gen- 
eral in  the  work  of  either  author.  And  in  both  plays  there  is  less  love 
element  than  is  general  with  either — in  the  one  a  slight  scene  between 
Anna  and  the  traveller,  and  in  the  other  a  short  scene  between  Madge  and 
Rous.  Strife  is  Galsworthy's  longest  play  and  the  largest  in  number  of 
characters.  Except  for  Florian  Geyer,  Die  IVeher  is  the  longest  of  Haupt- 
mann's  and  has  the  greatest  number  of  characters.  The  time  of  year  in 
Die  Weber  is  the  end  of  May,  in  Strife,  February ;  the  weather  being  re- 
spectively hot  and  cold.  Each  play  opens  at  twelve  o'clock  noon.  Strife 
takes  place  in  six  hours ;  the  time  of  Die  Weber  is  not  specified  but  it  could 
take  place  in  twenty-four  hours. 

Neither  play  has  anything  to  do  with  poetic  justice.  The  only  results  of 
these  bitter  struggles  are  the  deaths  of  Hilse,  a  harmless,  extremely  pious 
old  man,  and  of  Mrs.  Roberts,  an  innocent  invalid ;  the  destruction  of 
Dreissiger's  property,  and  the  breaking  of  the  two  able  men,  Anthony  and 
Roberts. 

Neither  author  offers  any  solution  of  the  problem.  Both  are  content 
to  show  the  effect  of  heredity  and  environment ;  to  contrast  the  rich  and 
the  poor;  to  point  out  the  injustice  of  such  a  system.  Both  suggest  some- 
thing deeper.  Hauptmann  makes  implicit  what  Galsworthy  makes  ex- 
plicit, thru  the  mouth  of  Edgar  :  "There's  nothing  wrong  with  our  human- 
ity.   It's  our  imaginations." 

Der  Biberpels  and  The  Silver  Box. 

Der  Biberpels  and  The  Silver  Box  deal  with  a  theft  and  a  subsequent 
trial  before  a  magistrate.  They  are  called  comedies,  but  are  conceived  in 
very  different  spirits.  Hauptmann  says  the  field  of  the  comic  is  the  intel- 
lect. As  Galsworthy's  plays  have  a  pronounced  intellectual  element 
comedy  ought  to  be  Galsworthy's  forte.  But  the  seriousness 
with  which  he  treats  his  subjects  brings  them  close  to  tragedy.  This 
is  true  of  The  Silver  Box.  Der  Biberpels  is  perhaps  the  most  intellectual 
of  Hauptmann's  plays,  and  more  light  and  comic  than  any  of  Gals- 
worthy's. By  treating  the  subject  intellectually  he  has  forestalled  criticism 
of  the  morality  of  the  characters.  We  must  remember  too,  that  he  has 
nothing  to  do  with  poetic  justice. 


The  Parallel  Plays.  69 

The  objects  stolen  are  respectively  a  beaver  coat  and  a  silver  box.  Sing- 
ularly enough  neither  of  these  objects  is  a  symbol,  nor  an  integral  part  of 
the  action.  It  forms  simply  a  minor  detail  for  which  many  other  objects 
would  have  served  almost  as  well. 

The  protagonist  of  Der  Biberpeh  is  a  washerwoman,  Frau  Wolff,  who 
manoeuvres  a  series  of  thefts  from  a  wealthy  old  citizen  named  Kriiger. 
Frau  Wolff  has  a  husband  who  assists  her  in  her  schemes,  and  two  daugh- 
ters, one  of  whom  is  employed  as  a  servant  in  Kriiger's  household.  When 
the  theft  is  discovered  Kriiger  discharges  an  innocent  woman  on  suspicion. 
The  protagonist  of  The  Silver  Box  is  Jones,  who  steals  a  cigarette  box 
from  the  Barthwicks.  His  wife  is  a  charwoman  at  the  Barthwick's,  and 
when  the  theft  is  discovered  she  at  once  is  suspected.  In  each  caseJ.nno- 
cent  persons  suffer.  Incidentally  it  should  be  noted  that  Galsworthy  has 
compressed  the  situation  into  smaller  compass  and  therefore  has  fewer 
characters.  On  the  other  hand  he  expands  the  situation  in  other  directions. 
The  Wolffs  and  the  Joneses  are  very  different  people.  Frau  Wolff  is 
clever  and  ingenious,  and  has  an  iron  nerve.  Mrs.  Jones  is  a  "Gawd-for- 
saken image"  and  a  supine  fatalist.  Wolff,  who  really  corresponds  to  Mrs. 
Jones,  is  slothful  and  slow-witted,  and  a  pawn  in  the  hands  of  his  wife. 
Jones,  while  far  from  being  an  ideal  husband  or  man,  is  spirited  and  inde- 
pendent. Frau  Wolff  steals  because  she  has  no  compunction,  and  no  moral 
standard.  Jones  steals  because  poverty,  drunkenness  and  a  sense  of  suf- 
fering injustice  drive  him  to  it. 

One  other  character  figures  in  an  important  way.  .  In  the  home  of 
Kriiger  lives  a  Dr.  Fleisher,  a  meek,  law-abiding  citizen.  But  he  has 
liberal  views  on  certain  questions  and  therefore  fal's  under  the  suspicion 
of  Wehrhahn,  the  magistrate.  Barthwick  has  a  son  Jack,  who  is  far  from 
being  a  respectable  and  law-abiding  citizen.  But  in  spite  of  his  offenses, 
he  goes  unmolested  by  the  law  thru  the  machinations  of  his  attorney.  The 
attitude  toward  the  law  and  the  magistrate  differs  widely  in  the  two  plays. 
Hauptmann  satirizes  the  officials  but  does  not  attack  the  principles  of  jus- 
tice. Galsworthy  does  not  attack  the  judgment  of  the  magistrate,  but  the 
severity  of  the  system.  Both  show  the  emptiness  of  human  justice.  Haupt- 
mann ridicules  a  system  that  permits  a  fool  to  hold  office  and  "run"  a 
community ;  Galsworthy  the  system  that  considers  only  the  deed  and  not 
the  motive.     Wehrhahn  is  an  egregious  ass,  a  pillar  of  society  and  the 


N.X 


yo  Gerhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

Church.  He  is  a  blatant  egotist  who  knows  all  about  a  case  before  he  has 
heard  the  evidence.  He  disbelieves  the  truth  from  those  he  dislikes  and 
believes  lies  from  those  he  trusts.  So  intent  is  he  upon  hunting  down 
Socialists  and  others  "det  er  nich  iebern  Kirchturm  fiillt"  when  it  lies  be- 
fore him.  Galsworthy  does  not  satirize  the  magistrate.  He  is  depicted  as 
a  sensible  man  who  is  intent  on  sticking  to  the  point.  Consequently,  when 
he  is  about  to  get  off  the  point  by  examining  into  the  way  Jones  got  pos- 
session of  the  reticule,  he  discovers  his  docket  does  not  mention  a  reticule. 
He  is  rather  stupid,  permitting  Jack  to  be  dismissed  from  the  stand  before 
Jones  has  finished  his  questions.  His  intentions  are  good,  but  with 
"form,"  stupidity  and  the  manoeuvres  of  the  lawyer,  justice  is  one-sided. 
Each  magistrate,  of  course,  has  his  set  of  assistants.  For  Glasenapp.  the 
clerk ;  Mittledorf,  the  constable ;  and  Motes,  a  satellite,  in  Der  Biberpelz, 
there  are  a  clerk,  an  officer,  and  Snow,  a  detective  in  The  Silver  Box. 

Hauptmann  as  usual,  treats  the  subject  from  the  side  of  the  poor,  Gals- 
worthy from  that  of  the  rich.  Social  contrast  is  used,  but  it  is  minimized 
in  Der  Biberpelz.  The  scenes  in  the  two  plays  are  well  balanced.  In  Der 
Biberpelz,  Acts  I  and  HI  are  laid  in  the  home  of  the  Wolffs,  Acts  H  and  IV 
in  court.  In  The  Silver  Box,  Act  I  and  Act  II,  Scene  II,  are  laid  in  the 
home  of  the  Barthwicks,  Act  III  in  court.  Structurally  the  plays  are 
alike,  the  climax  falling  at  about  the  middle.  Action  too,  is  more  of  a 
feature  than  is  general  in  the  works  of  either  author.  Oddly  enough,  both 
plays  open  in  a  similar  manner.  In  Der  Biberpelz  Leontine  is  dozing 
when  the  curtain  rises.  Then  fumbling  at  the  door  and  knocking  break  the 
silence.  The  Silver  Box  begins  with  the  stage  empty.  Then  Jack  fumbles 
at  the  door  and  bursts  in. 

How  approach  to  a  problem  from  different  points  of  view  demands  that 
the  same  detail  be  used  in  different  ways  is  illustrated  by  a  few  features. 
The  coat  stolen  by  the  Wolffs  is  handed  on  to  Wulkow  in  order  to  get  it 
out  of  the  way.  The  reticule  stolen  by  Jack  gets  into  Jones'  hand  by  acci- 
dent. Frau  Wolff  plans  and  executes  thefts  on  the  pretext  of  helping  to 
educate  her  daughters,  so  that  they  may  rise  in  the  world.  Mrs.  Barth- 
wick  laments  the  evils  of  education,  asserting  that  education  causes  the 
poor  to  get  above  themselves.  And  the  difference  in  spirit  in  which  the 
plays  are  conceived,  shows  itself  not  only  in  the  tone  of  the  plays,  but  in 
the  emphasis  put  on  certain  elements.  Der  Biberpelz,  being  broad  com- 
edy, does  not  have  a  definite  message,  while  The  Silver  Box  does.  Further, 
the  former  puts  the  emphasis  on  the  individuals,  the  latter  on  the  problem. 


The  Parallel  Plays  71 

Hanneles  Himmelfahrt  and  The  Little  Dream. 

Die  IVcher  and  Strife  are  among  Hauptmann's  and  Galworthy's  long- 
est plays ;  Hanneles  Himmelfahrt  and  The  Little  Dream  are  their  shortest. 
Hannele  is  a  "Traumdichtung  in  zwei  Teilen" ;  The  Little  Dream  is  an 
allegory  in  six  scenes.  Each  is  a  dream  poem  in  prose  and  verse.  The 
one  is  the  dream  of  a  child's  fever-distraught  brain  of  her  reception  into 
heaven ;  the  other  the  dream  of  a  mountain  lass  named  Seelchen,  of  her 
life's  experiences.  The  scene  of  each  is  the  mountains.  The  one  is  laid  in 
an  almshouse  to  which  the  dying  Hannele  is  brought,  the  other  in  a  hut, 
the  home  of  the  little  soul.  The  transition  from  the  factual  world  to  the 
imaginary  is  in  each  case  imperceptible,  tho  in  Hannele  it  is  much  more 
subtle  and  delicate. 

The  dream  in  each  case  is  set  in  a  kind  of  frame,  consisting  of  a  prolog 
and  epilog  from  real  life.  Then  within  the  dream  are  alternations  of  the 
real  and  the  imaginary.  During  Hannele's  sane  moments  the  scene  is  the 
bare  inhospitable  almshouse,  with  its  wretched  inmates ;  during  her  dream 
it  is  the  spirit  world  inhabited  by  her  dead  mother,  angels  and  the  spir- 
itual counterparts  of  the  people  who  enter  into  her  life.  Chief  among 
these  are  her  father,  Sister  Martha  and  the  teacher  Gottwald.  Her  father 
in  her  dream  is  just  what  he  is  in  life,  a  drunken  brute  who  abuses  her. 
Gottwald  is  confused  with  Christ.  The  kind  teacher  embodies  for  her 
both  an  earthly  and  a  divine  love.  It  was  this  mixed  love — partly  reli- 
gious, partly  sexual,  that  drove  her  into  the  pool  of  water  after  the  imag- 
inary figure  of  Christ. 

In  The  Little  Dream  too,  the  real  and  the  imaginary  alternate.  The 
dream  experiences  of  Seelchen  are,  like  Hannele's,  the  outgrowth  of  her 
real  experiences.  The  men  staying  in  the  hut  become  her  rival  lovers, 
between  whom  she  is  drawn  equally.  But  this  is  not  all.  The  men  are 
made  to  personify  certain  abstractions  as  well.  Lamond  is  from  the  city. 
He  therefore  personifies  the  lure  of  the  metropolis,  the  gay,  ceaseless 
whirl  of  life.  Felsman  is  a  mountaineer.  He  personifies  the  beauty,  fresh- 
ness, serenity  of  life  close  to  nature.  In  addition  the  mountains  and  flow- 
ers are  personified.  The  Wine  Horn  promises  Seelchen  old  wine,  chance, 
change,  voice  and  many  loves.  The  Cow  Horn  promises  her  new  milk, 
certainty,  peace,  stillness  and  one  love.  And  thfe*'Great  Horn  warns  her 
that  she  shall  love  both.    "Thou  shalt  lie  Qrt'#ieflMUs  with  Silence;    and 


Qrl^'#iepl'^Us  wit 


^2  Gcrliart  flanptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

dance  in  the  cities  with  Knowledge."  Of  course,  the  Wine  Horn  and  the 
Cow  Horn  are  identified  with  Lamond  and  Felsman,  being  the  allegorical 
counterparts  of  these  real  characters.  As  the  Great  Horn  prophesied, 
Seelchen  loves  both  men  in  turn,  and  having  enjoyed  and  wearied  of  each 
love,  seeks  refuge  with  the  Great  Horn — Mystery. 

Hannele's  dream  thoughts  alternate  between  the  actual  and  the  spiritual, 
Seelchen's  between  city  and  country  life;  but  in  each  case  the  dream  blends 
into  and  arises  out  of  the  factual.  This  transition  makes  necessary  the  use 
of  three  sets  of  characters.  First  are  the  real  characters.  Then  are  the 
imaginary  ones,  which  may  be  further  divided  into  those  that  speak  and 
those  that  are  pantomimic.  Of  this  latter  group,  there  are  a  great  many 
more  in  The  Little  Dream  than  in  Hannele.  In  the  latter  they  are 
chiefly  angels,  in  the  former,  voices  and  figures  of  personified  abstractions. 

The  time  of  both  plays  is  the  evening,  for  in  Hannele  "Mondschein  fallt 
durch's  Fenster,"  and  in  The  Little  Dream  the  moonlight  shines  upon  the 
mountain  peaks.  In  Hannele  it  is  a  winter  evening;  in  The  Little  Dream, 
a  fine  night  in  August. 

Both  plays  have  an  element  of  symbolism.  The  black  angel,  the  stranger, 
the  cowslip — himmelschliissel,  all  have  a  symbolic  meaning.  On  the  ot^er 
hand  the  whole  of  The  Little  Dream  is  a  symbol.  The  spirit  in  which  the 
plays  are  conceived  is  the  same.  The  mood  is  that  of  aloofness  from  the 
world.  Hannele  has  a  religious,  and  The  Little  Dream  a  philosophical 
import.  Hannele  shows  the  soul's  longing  to  escape  the  ugly,  the  burning 
desire  for  happiness  and  love.  It  shows  the  deep-rooted  convictions  in 
Hannele  that  her  earthly  sufferings  will  be  glorified  after  death.  The 
Little  Dream  shows  the  eternal  struggle  in  the  human  soul  between  the 
opposed  forces  of  life,  and  the  final  refuge  in  something  greater — death. 
It  represents  the  universal  desire  for  change  and  variety.  As  Seelchen 
says :  "I  am  full  of  big  wants — like  the  cheese  with  holes."  Hannele  in- 
terprets a  universal  human  characteristic  thru  a  concrete  individual  case. 
The  Little  Dream  interprets  a  similar  characteristic  thru  the  personification 
of  the  abstact  and  the  general. 

Michael  Kramer  and  A  Bit  o'  Love. 

Michael  Kramer  and  A  Bit  o'  Love  have  for  their  theme  the  sufferings 
of  a  misunderstood  man  who  is  intensely  desirous  of  love.  Arnold 
Kramer  is  a  youth  who  is  somewhat  physically  misshapen.     He  suffers 


The  Parallel  Plays  73 

from  the  instability  of  genius.  He  is  hypersensitive  and  as  a  consequence 
of  the  unfortunate  home  conditions  under  which  he  grew  up,  has  a  warped 
character.  His  father  inspires  him  with  unnatural  fear.  His  mother 
makes  his  life  miserable  by  her  continual  nagging.  He  needs  a  helping 
hand,  but  thru  his  own  weakness  of  character  fails  to  seize  the  hand  held 
out  to  him  by  his  father.  Above  all,  his  sensitive  soul  required  someone 
to  love  him.  Consequently  he  takes  a  mad  fancy  to  an  innkeeper's  daugh- 
ter, who  is  incapable  of  understanding  him  much  less  of  loving  him. 
Furthermore,  she  is  already  engaged  to  a  frequenter  of  the  inn.  Arnold 
sits  nightly  in  the  same  spot  in  the  corner  of  the  bar-room,  devouring  the 
bar-maid  with  his  eyes  and  sketching  the  boisterous  frequenters  with  his 
pencil.  The  result  is  that  he  becomes  the  butt  of  this  crowd  that  can  see 
of  him  nothing  but  his  ugly  exterior. 

Strangway  is  neither  young  nor  unbalanced,  nor  is  he  a  genius.  He  is  a 
minister  who  preaches  the  gospel  of  love,  and  moreover  practices  it.  This 
alone  causes  him  to  be  misunderstood.  But  when  his  wife  leaves  him  and 
he  refuses  to  seek  some  kind  of  legal  revenge,  he  is  regarded  as  a  weakling, 
a  coward  and  one  unfit  to  preach  God's  word.  Like  Arnold  he  is  hyper- 
sei^itive  and  has  a  burning  desire  for  love — in  his  case  the  love  of  his  not 
too  worthy  wife,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  Arnold,  his  love  is  unrequited.  As 
Arnold  expresses  himself  thru  his  sketches,  so  Strangway  gives  vent  to  his 
emotions  by  writing  love  poetry  and  playing  a  flute  out  in  the  meadow  by 
himself.  This,  of  course,  brings  ridicule  upon  him  from  the  villagers  who 
congregate  at  the  public  house. 

Arnold  and  Strangway  both  have  an  inherent  feeling  of  superiority  to 
those  who  persecute  them,  but  Arnold  is  too  timid  and  Strangway  too 
meek,  to  give  it  outward  expression.  Only  once  do  they  give  their  emo- 
tions physical  expression.  Arnold  is  finally  impelled  to  draw  a  revolver 
on  his  tormentors.  But  as  they  soon  overpower  him,  he  is  humiliated  be- 
yong  endurance  and  rushes  out  and  commits  suicide.  Strangway  goes  to 
the  inn  to  get  some  liquor  to  strengthen  him  for  his  sermon.  While  he 
is  there  he  is  insulted  by  a  drunken  parishioner  from  whose  daughter  he 
had  taken  and  liberated  a  caged  bird.  On  the  spur  of  the  moment  Strang- 
way throws  him  out  of  the  window.  After  the  sermon  Strangway  is 
hissed  at  the  church  door.  So  humiliated  is  he  that  he  goes  away  with 
the  intention  of  committing  suicide.     He  is  prevented,  however,  by  the 


74  Gcrhart  Hauptmann  and  John  Galsworthy 

timely  appearance  of  a  little  girl.  This  difference  in  the  solution  of  the 
situation  shows  up  prominently  an  important  difference  between  Haupt- 
mann and  Galsworthy.  In  Hauptmann  a  character  is  often  so  hemmed 
in  by  his  own  nature  and  environment  that  only  one  way  out  of  the  diffi- 
culty is  left  him.  This  is  frequently  suicide.  In  Galsworthy  some  timely 
circumstance  intervenes  and  solves  the  situation  for  the  character. 

In  this  case,  however,  it  is  not  solely  the  appearance  of  the  girl  that 
saves  Strangway.  He  has  a  strong  will,  and  courage,  which  Arnold  has 
not.  In  this  respect  he  resembles  somewhat  Arnold's  father.  Like  Arnold 
he  is  weak  in  his  love,  but  like  Michael  he  has  an  inner  strength  that  helps 
him  to  fight  his  way  thru.  He  is  described  as  "a  gentle  creature  burnt 
within."  His  struggle  is  not  so  much  with  the  world  as  with  himself. 
"Fight !"  he  exclaims,  touching  his  heart,  "my  fight  is  here.     Have  you 

ever  been  in  hell  ?    For  months  and  months — burned  and  longed ; 

killed  a  man  in  thought  day  by  day  ?  Never  rested  for  love  and  hate  ?"^^^ 
Somewhat  similarly  Arnold  exclaims  to  his  father  and  Liese :  "Mir  ist 
nicht  sehr  wohl  in  meiner  Haut."^®^  "Vielleicht  bin  ich  auch  wirklich 
lacherlich.  Ich  meine  auszerlich,  innerlich  nicht.  Denn  wenn  Sie  mich 
innerlich  konnten  betrachten,  da  brenn'  ich  die  Kerls  von  der  Erde  wegij^®^ 
This  struggle  within  a  character's  mind  and  heart  is  an  important  feature 
of  the  work  of  both  authors.  It  expresses  itself  outwardly  in  counte- 
nances "schmutzig  blasz"  (Arnold)  arid  "blasz  und  griiblerish"  (Mi- 
chael). Written  large  in  both  these  plays,  tho  much  more  explicitly  in 
Michael  Kramer,  is  the  thought  that  character  is  fate. 

In  spite  of  the  tragic  theme,  each  play  is  relieved  by  an  element  of 
comedy.  The  inn  scenes  are  made  somewhat  humorous  thru  incident  and 
character  revelation.  Those  in  A  Bit  o'  Love  particularly,  are  very  good, 
but  they  amount  almost  to  an  over-emphasis  of  the  milieu,  unless  we  are 
to  interpret  them  as  parallel  to  the  tragic  element.  Perhaps,  however,  they 
serve  to  emphasize  the  contrast  between  those  moral  and  superior  judged 
by  their  own  standard,  and  those  moral  and  superior  judged  by  an  abso- 
hite  standard.  To  some  extent  this  applies  too,  to  the  inn  scene  in  Michael 
Kramer. 


"'Act  III,  p.  70. 
'""Act  II.  p.  70. 
'"Act  III,  p.  80. 


The  Parallel  Plays  75 

The  action  in  each  play  is  laid  in  the  same  or  similar  places,  the  home, 
the  inn,  and  the  studio  or  outside  the  church.  The  structure  of  the  plays  is 
the  same.  The  climax  falls  about  in  the  middle,  in  Michael  Kramer  at  the 
end  of  Act  II,  in  A  Bit  o'  Love  at  the  end  of  Act  II,  Scene  I. 

In  the  end  all  that  has  happened  is,  in  the  one  case,  Arnold's  death,  in 
the  other  Strangway's  resignation.  Had  Arnold  been  able  to  confide  in 
his  father,  or  Strangway  been  less  of  an  idealist  the  calamity  might  have 
been  averted.  Strangway  goes  out  into  the  v^^orld  as  a  stranger  to  begin 
life  anew.  Michael  buries  in  Arnold  his  heart's  deepest  desires  and  sto- 
ically resigns  himself  to  meet  whatever  the  world  holds  in  store.  In  the 
first  frenzy  of  despair  Michael^ had  raged  at  God  and  Strangway  had 
asked,  "Is  there  a  God?"  But  later,  when  they  had  risen  above  their 
woes  and  had  put  themselves  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  nature,  Michael 
had  no  feeling  of  revenge  and  Strangway  no  feeling  of  despair.  Then 
Michael  could  calmly  speak  his  valedictory :   "Wo  sollen  wir  landen,  wo 

treiben   wir  hin? was mit   gen  Himmel   erhohenen  H'dnden 

was  wird  es  wohl  sein  am  Ende?"  In  like  manner,  Strangway  could  be- 
fore his  departure,  lift  his  hand  in  the  gesture  of  prayer  and  pray: 

"Gpd,  of  the  moon  and  the  sun ; give  me  strength  to  go  on,  till  I  love 

every  living  thing." 


V. 

Conclusion. 

Now,  after  having  noted  the  general  characteristics  of  the  two  authors 
and  made  a  somewhat  detailed  comparison  of  four  parallel  plays,  I  am 
ready  to  adduce  the  natural  conclusions.  I  have  shown  that  Hauptmann 
and  Galsworthy  treat  chiefly  the  middle  and  lower  classes,  and  that  Gals- 
worthy approaches  his  subjects  from  the  side  of  the  middle  class  and 
Hauptmann  from  the  side  of  the  lower.  Yet  both  delineate  essentially 
"average"  characters  of  similar  types.  These  types  fall  into  groups — 
financiers,  ministers,  criminals,  young  men,  girls  and  others,  that  are  only 
superficially  alike.  But  in  certain  groups  one  finds  a  likeness  that  is  not 
superficial.  Each  author  depicts  some  individual  characters  that  are  re- 
markably similar.  Each  shows  a  decided  predilection  for  making  the  chief 
or  very  important  characters  creative  thinkers  or  artists.  Each  draws  a 
number  of  people,  who  for  some  reason  or  other  are  pale.  Further,  ^e 
study  of  family  groups  is  a  pronounced  feature  of  the  work  of  both 
authors.  But  in  one  characteristic  are  they  especially  alike,  the  habit  of 
repeating  situations  and  characters. 

One  of  the  points  in  which  they  are  in  closest  contact  is  in  their  choice 
of  themes.  Both  are  interested  in  the  same  social  and  economic  problems 
— capital  and  labor,  idleness,  overwork,  justice,  inequalities  of  opportunity. 
In  one  play  of  each  the  subject  matter  is  political.  In  that,  and  in  other 
works,  each  shows  an  interest  in  mob  psychology.  But  the  theme  with 
which  they  are  preoccupied  is  that  of  the  unhappy  marriage.  Closely  re- 
lated to  this  is  that  of  the  fallen  girl,  made  the  subject  of  one  play  of  each 
author.  Love  is  a  stock  theme,  but  with  them  it  takes  dififerent  forms. 
First,  it  is  represented  as  a  tyrant ;  second,  as  a  thirst  of  the  heart ;  third, 
as  a  beautifying  and  redeeming  power.  Humanitarian  or  brotherly  love, 
with  its  consequent  sacrifice,  has  received  several  treatments  by  each 
author.  Akin  to  this  universal  love  is  love  of  animals  and  flowers  which  is 
a  marked  characteristic  of  several  of  their  characters.  Their  satires  on 
education  and  reform,  and  things  literary,  are  also  noteworthy. 


Conclusion  TJ 

Symbols  they  use  with  telUng  effect,  in  their  novels  as  well  as  their 
plays,  and  in  their  naturalistic  work  as  well  as  in  their  symbolic.  Toward 
nature  they  assume  practically  the  same  attitude.  They  use  it  in  their  art 
to  create  atmosphere.  Then  they  use  it  as  a  background  to  man.  Philo- 
sophically, they  regard  it  not  as  an  ugly  thing  or  as  an  antagonistic  force, 
but  something  with  which  man  must  put  himself  in  harmony. 

That  which  urges  both  authors  to  write  is  the  impulse  to  enlighten. 
Further,  they  brood  over  life,  and  contemplate  its  spiritual  adventures.- 
Hence,  they  are  realists.  As  such  both  use  naturalistic  and  idealistic  tech- 
nique. Their  conceptions  of  drama  while  not  identical  are  in  essential 
agreement.    Both  acknowledge  their  preoccupation  with  states  of  mind. 

As  dramatists  they  use  the  same  general  technique.  They  scrupulously 
select  details,  and  interpret  the  problems  of  life  thru  the  momentary  and 
the  finite.  Therefore  they  often  resort  to  the  unities.  For  the  same  rea- 
son they  use  similar  structure  and  create  static  characters.  But  they  re- 
ject poetic  justice  and  features  belonging  to  conventional  drama.  Both 
have  used  the  dream  device,  and  as  psychologists  recognize  the  validity 
of  the  world  of  imagination.  As  artists  they  produce  their  effects  thru^ 
sugfl^stion  rather  than  by  direct  communication.  This  is  shown  especially 
in  their  handling  of  love  scenes,  in  the  management  of  business  and  dialog, 
and  in  the  choice  of  the  specific  word. 

A  few  features  deserve  special  attention.  The  plays  of  each  dramatist 
have  approximately  the  same  number  of  characters.  These  are  so  well 
managed  as  to  constitute  a  distinctive  feature  of  the  work  of  each  man. 
This  handling  of  groups  of  characters  is  revealed  too,  in  the  management 
of  multiple  conversation.  Usually,  however,  each  author  restricts  his 
conversation  to  two  or  three  persons.  Dialog  is  a  characteristic  for  which 
each  is  celebrated,  for  dialog  is  with  them  synonymous  with  character. 
In  this  they  are  greatly  aided  by  the  use  of  dialect,  provincial  expressions 
or  accent.  Moreover,  their  dialog  is  dramatic  no  matter  whether  the 
speeches  are  long  or  short.  Their  stage  directions  are  often  epical ;  but 
they  never  degenerate  to  personal  comment.  Stage  directions  are  made 
full  and  specific  because  both  dramatists  regard  every  detail,  sound  or 
movement  described  as  part  of  the  play. 

The  subjective  peculiarities  of  the  two  authors  are  revealed  in  their  use 
of  similar  elements,  balance,  parallelism,  contrast,  and  irony  ;  by  their  defi- 


78  Gcrhart  Hauptntann  and  John  Galsworthy 

ciency  in  pure  lyricism  and  humor,  and  by  their  production  of  the  comic 
thru  the  revelation  of  character. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  shown  the  extent  to  which  the  four 
plays  of  Galsworthy  are  like  the  four  plays  of  Hauptmann.  It  will  have 
been  noticed  that  Strife  and  The  Little  Dream  very  closely  parallel  Die 
Weber  and  Hannele.  The  Silver  Box,  while  dealing  with  a  theme  and  a 
situation  similar  to  those  of  Der  Biberpeh,  does  not  parallel  that  play 
so  closely  because  of  the  difference  in  spirit  in  which  the  two  arc^con- 
ceived.  On  the  other  hand,  Michael  Kramer  and  A  Bit  0'  Love  are  more 
alike  in  spirit  and  treatment  than  in  the  situation  or  characters.  This  is 
chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  one  deals  with  artists  and  the  other  with  a 
minister. 

To  none  of  the  numerous  problems  that  hauptmann  and  Galsworthy 
treat  do  they  offer  a  definite  solution.  They  are  concerned  less  with  the 
material  outcome  than  with  the  spiritual.  Their  primary  interest  is  in  the 
individual's  spiritual  freedom.  Yet  they  are  social  dramatists.  That  is, 
they  look  at  things  from  the  standpoint  of  society.  They  recognize  that 
real  spiritual  freedom  for  the  individual  is  impossible  unless  society  itself 
rises  to  the  point  of  spiritual  freedom.  The  individual's  struggle  i^for 
them  then,  the  means  of  calling  attention  to  society's  responsibility. 

The  parallelism  of  the  works  of  the  two  authors  is  now  established,  and 
needs  no  further  comment.  Its  cause,  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  study  to 
ascertain.  Unquestionably  the  Zeitgeist  explains  some  of  it,  as  it  does  the 
coincidences  of  their  careers.  The  spirit  of  the  age  may  explain  the  gen- 
eral similarity  of  their  works  but  hardly  the  detailed  likeness.  On  the 
other  hand,  their  heredity  and  environment  may  explain  the  difference  in 
treatment  of  the  same  situations,  themes,  and  other  elements.  In  other 
words,  they  might  be  even  more  aUke  were  they  not  of  such  different 
nationalities. 


a,Luy^>r^^^,  "^f^y:^       ■    ^ 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

A. 
Works. 

Ge;rhart  Hauptmann,  1862 — 

Promethidenlos,  1885.    W.  Issleib,  Berlin. 

Bahnwdrter  Thiel,  1887.    Published,  1899. 

Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  1899.    7te  Auflage,  1899. 

Der  Apostel,  1890.    Published,  1899. 

Das  Fried  ens f  est,  1890.    3te  Auflage,  1897. 

Einsame  Menschen,  1891.     I2te  Auflage,  1899. 

Die  Weber,  1892.    2ite  Auflage,  1899. 

College  Crampton,  1892.    6te  Auflage,  1899. 

Der  Biberpels,  1893.    5te  Auflage,  1899. 

Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  1893.    7te  Auflage,  1899. 

Florian  Geyer,  1896.    2te  Auflage,  1896. 
^.^^^Iga,  1896;   Gesammelte  Werke,  1912. 
^    Die  versunkene  Glocke^  1897.     2ite  Auflage,  1897. 

Fuhrman  Henschel,  1898.    4te  Auflage,  1899. 

Schluck  und  Jau,  1899.    5te  Auflage,  1900. 

Michael  Kramer,  1900.    7te  Auflage,  1900. 

Der  rote  Hahn,  1901.    6te  Auflage,  1901.  , 

Der  arme  Heinrich,  1902.     I4te  Auflage,  1902. 

Rose  Bernd,  1903.     I7te  Auflage,  1912. 

Und  Pip  pa  tanct!  1906.    7te  Auflage,  1906. 

Die  Jungfejn  vom  Bischofsberg,  1907.    4te  Auflage,  1907. 

Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  1908.    6te  Auflage,  1908. 
^^riechischer  Friihling,  1908. 

Grlselda,  1909. 
^Der  Narr  in  Christo,  1910;   Gesammelte  Werke,  igj2. 

Die  Ratten,  igii.    6te  Auflage. 

Gabriel  Schillings  Flttcht,  1912. 
^tlantis,  igi2;   Gesammelte  Werke,  1912. 

F  est  spiel,  191 3. 
^Lohengrin,  1913.     Ullstein  &  Co.,  Berlin. 
^Der  Bogen  dcs  Odysseus,  1914. 

Parsival,  191 5.    Ullstein  &  Co.,  Berlin. 

Poems  in  Das  Oxforder  Buch  Deutscher  Dichtung.    Edited  by  H.  G. 
Fiedler.     Oxford  University  Press,  191 1. 
Unless  otherwise  specified  the  Publisher  of  Hauptmann's  works  is 

S.  Fischer,  Berlin. 
6 


8o  Gcrhort  Hauptmann  and  John  Galszvorthy 

John  Galsworthy,  1867 — 

Villa  Rubcin  and  Other  Stories.    Duckworth  and  Company,  London, 
1909. 

Island  Pharisees,  1904.    William  Heinemann,  London,  1908. 

The  Man  of  Property,  1906.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York.  7th 
Printing. 
'  .The  Silver  Box,  1906.    Plays,  First  Series.  1916. 

The  Country  House,  1907.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York.     12th 

Printing. 
Joy,  1907.    Plays,  First  Series,  1916. 

A  Commentary,  1908.     Grant  Richards,  London,  1908. 

Fraternity,  1909.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York,  191 1. 
.Strife,  1909.     Plays,  First  Series,  1916. 
.The  Eldest  Son,  1909.    Plays,  Second  Series,  1913. 

A  Motley,  1910. 

Justice,  1910.    Plays,  Second  Series,  1913. 

'The  Little  Dream,  191 1.    Plays,  Second  Series,  1913. 

The  Patrican,  1911.     Published,  1915. 
•The  Pigeon,  igi2.    Published,  1913. 

Moods,  Songs,  and  Doggerels,  1912. 

The  Inn  of  Tranquillity,  1912. 
'The  Dark  Floiuer,  191 3. 

•  The  Fugitive,  1913.    Duckworth  and  Company,  London.  1913. 

•  The  Mob,  191 4.  • 
^A  Bit  o'  Love,  191 5. 

J'he  Little  Man  and  Other  Satires,  1915. 
The  Fre elands,  191 5. 
A  Sheaf,  191 6. 

Unless  otherwise  specified  Galsworthy's  works  are  from  the  press 
of  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York. 

B. 

Critical  Books  and  Articles. 
Selected  List. 

Behl,  C.  F.  W. :  Gerhart  Hauptmann,  W.  Borngraber,  Berlin. 

Coar,  J.  C. :  Studies  in  German  Literature  in  the  Nineteenth  Century, 
Macmillan,  New  York.  1903. 

Cooper,  F.  T. :  Some  Bnglish  Story-tellers,  Holt,  New  York,  1912. 
_.  Dukes,  Ashley :  Modern  Dramatists,  Sergei,  Chicago^  1912. 

Freund,  F.  E.  W. :  Modern  German  Drama,  The  Drama  8:  124. 

Grumman,  P.  H. :   Gerhart  Hauptmann,  Poet  Lore,  21:285;   Poet  Lore, 
22:  117. 

Heller,  Otto  :  Studies  in  Modern  German  Literature,  Ginn  Company,  Bos- 
ton, 1905. 


Bibliography  8i 

Henderson,  Archibald  :  The  Changing  Drama,  Holt,  New  York,  1914. 
*-Holl,  Karl:  Gerhart  Hauptmann,  Gay  and  Hancock,  London,  1913. 

Howe,  P.  P.:  Dramatic  Portraits,  M.  Seeker,  London,  1913. 
•  Huneker,  James :  Iconoclasts,  Scribner,  New  York,  1905. 
Kaye-Smith,  Sheila :    John  Galsworthy,  Nisbet  and  Company,  London, 

1916. 
Lewisohn,  L. :  The  Modern  Drama,  Huebsch,  New  York,  1915. 

"  "       Spirit  of  Modern  German  Literature,  Huebsch,  New  York^ 

1916. 
JVIeyerfield,  M. :  John  Galsworthy,  Das  Literarische  Bcho,  13J,  1090. 
^  Pekary,  C.  H. :    Gerhart  Hauptmanns  Fraiiengestalten,  Cornell  Univer- 
^1,1^*''*^^         sity,  M.  A.  Thesis,  1916. 

/f;^^  Schlenter,  Paul :  Gerhart  Hauptmann,  S.  Fischer,  Berlin,  1898. 

■  ^,Sk€mp,  A.  R. :  Plays  of  John  Galsworthy,  in  Studies  of  English  Associa- 
tion.   Vol.  4,  Clarendon  Press,  191 3. 
Sternberg,  Kurt :  Gerhart  Hauptmann,  W.  Borngraber,  Berlin,  1910. 
Stoeckius,  A. :  Naturalism  in  Recent  German  Drama,  New  York,  1903. 
Witkowski,  Georg :   German  Drama  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.    Transl. 
by  L.  E.  Horning.    Holt,  New  York,  1909. 


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